In the Clutch of Evil
by Winged Monkey
Summary: First, a tale from the past that goes back to when they were only 10. Then, when the turtles are dragged into another world and an evil supervillin has 'plans' for Leo, how will they ever escape? ::hiatus::
1. A Tale from the Past

_A/N:Hi! This is probably one of the longest stories I have. Any input would be greatly appriciated._

**Disclaimer: I don't own the turtles, only my fcs and the plot**

**--------------------**

_To the casual observer, there is nothing there. The shadows are nothing but darkness. But there they would be wrong, for the shadows are alive. This is my story, for I am a shadow. _

_My name is __Crystal__ and I am nineteen years old. I am just like any normal teenage girl. I like the things most girls like, and I don't like what most girls don't like. _

_You might not think I would be that different, but I am. I am a turtle; a teenage mutant ninja turtle. _

_My past is just like me, shaded and hidden. I do not know where I was born or how I mutated into my present form. _

_All I know is what my father, __Furui__, told me__. He, himself, was a __human. He was always so kind, so gentle. But there was much more to him than met the eye. He was originally from __Japan__, but he traveled over here to __America__ with the __Utroms__, as he was a Guardian. But by the time he had adopted me, he had become so old that he had to retire. _

_He told me once that he had found me on his doorstep one night. I had been curled up, trying to block out the cold. He said that there was something, a look in my eyes, which had touched his heart. He brought me in, intending to keep me as a pet, but once I started to walk on two legs as he did and then started to talk, he realized that I was not some average turtle. _

_I__t was then that he named me 'Crystal.' He said that it was because I would be the child that he would always cherish like a precious crystal. _

_He raised me, teaching me everything he could. I learned to read, to write, to understand mathematics, all from him. He taught me more than just how to sharpen my mind, though. Even at his old age, my father was still one of the best ninjas that had ever lived. He taught me how to live the life of a warrior and a peace-maker. He taught me the ways of bushido – the code of honor. __But perhaps the most important is that he taught me how to cherish life, both mine and others. _

_But one thing I learned that he never had wanted me to know was that he was being hunted. The Shredder, leader of the Foot, wanted him, and any other Guardian, destroyed. So my father, __Furui__, was living in hiding. _

_Eighteen years we lived together as father and daughter. But then, one terrible winter night, my entire life was turned upside-down. _

_Somehow, the Shredder had found us. We tried to escape, we tried to run, but we were trapped. We fought harder than we ever had before; we fought for our lives. But there were too many of them. They wounded me – a gash in the arm of which I still bear the scar. I fought on the best I could, but neither I nor my father could fight forever. The Foot, especially the Shredder, seemed like it could go on forever. Every time a ninja fell, another took its place. We were outnumbered, outmatched. _

_Eventually, I fell. I can vaguely remember my father pushing me into an open storm drain that led to the sewers. I must have floated through the filth for hours, but I do not remember it. I had fallen into a dream-like state. Then, through the fog of my clouded mind, I felt two gentle hands pull me up onto a ledge, but after that, I blacked out again. _

_I awoke to find myself lying on a couch surrounded, to my surprise, by four other turtles. They were much younger than me (I was to find out later that they were only ten) and they were boys. They were talking to a giant rat. _

_"Do you think she'll live, Sensei?" one asked. _

_"Yes, Leonardo," the rat replied. "It looks as though she is waking up now." _

_I tried to sit up, but I was too weak from blood loss and fell back down. _

_"Rest now," the rat said. "You are wounded, but you are safe. These are my sons: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. My name is Splinter. When you __are strong enough, then you may tell us about yourself. But for now, you must rest and regain your strength." _

_I remained there for some time before I could speak. Then I told them who I am and who my father is. But I did not tell them of our battle with the Foot. Something held me back. The little turtles did not seem to mind, or for that matter, really care. I resolved to discuss it with their master later, but there was no reason to bring such ill tidings to ones so young. _

_When I discussed my father's final battle with Splinter later on, he looked very grave. My own father, I knew, must have passed from this world and into the next, so I stayed with the turtle brothers and their rat master. My arm eventually healed, leaving only a scar of three lines intersecting in a way that looked like a dragonfly. I found out that this family, too, were ninjas. I often train with them. I have been here for a year, now, and they have adopted me. Their master has become my master as well; their home is my home. Who would have ever believed that the sewers of __New York City__ would become my home?_

She looked at the page she had written in her notebook and tore it out. Then, she folded it carefully into a paper airplane and threw it straight at the trashcan. It circled the trashcan twice before landing in it.

"Wow! You have to teach how to do that!" her brother, Michelangelo called from where he was sitting on the couch. The TV behind him was blaring cartoons.

"Maybe some other time, Mikey," Crystal replied.

"Hey, what's with the long face?" Donnie piped up, pulling himself up to where Crystal was sitting on her bed. She had a top bunk.

"Oh, I'm just trying to get my thoughts in order, but it's not working to well," she grinned. "Especially not with you two watching my every move."

Sometimes, it was very annoying having little brothers. They had all been completely fascinated with her ever since she moved in with them.

"Well, Master Splinter never told us not to." Now it was Raph's turn to join the teasing.

"OK, OK," Crystal conceded, laughing. "Speaking of Master Splinter, when will he return?"

"I dunno," Leo replied. He was standing in the middle of the floor of the dojo, trying to perfect one of his charkas.

"But I can't wait for tonight!" Mikey exclaimed.

"And what is tonight?" Crystal smiled. She knew very well what would happen that night, but since Mikey loved to talk about it so much, she just let him.

"It's HALLOWEEN!" all four of her brothers chorused.

"All that candy…." Mikey drooled.

"Going topside," Raphael murmured.

"Without having to worry about people seeing us," Leonardo agreed.

"AND THE CANDY!!!!" Michelangelo shouted.

"You don't need any more energy," Donatello laughed. "You already talk about comics non-stop!"

"That's because comics are so cool! All the superheroes, and superpowers, and-"

"We've already heard all that this morning, Mikey," growled Raph.

"Well, then thank goodness that Master Splinter is almost here," Crystal replied hurriedly, trying to stall another round of Raph-vs.-Mikey.

"How do you know that?" Leo wondered.

"It's just kind of a feeling," explained Crystal. A moment later, Master Splinter walked in.

"You have got to teach me how to do that!" Leo exclaimed.

"You'll learn on your own eventually," she assured him as she hopped down to greet Splinter.

--------------------

That evening, the turtles were all ready to go out trick-or-treating. One nice thing about being a mutant ninja turtle was that you never needed to go out and buy a costume. They had tied on their best masks. The four younger turtles had just recently graduated from the masks that covered their entire head to masks that just covered their eyes. Crystal's own mask was pure white, but she had embroidered it with a swirling, azure and lavender pattern that matched her pale purple eyes. However, while her brothers were going to leave their weapons in the lair in favor of pillow cases, Crystal kept her single katana strapped tightly to her back.

"Don't you want a pillow case for all your candy?" Mikey asked her.

"No, I won't be going trick-or-treating with you tonight. I have some unfinished business to take care of up on the surface."

Her adopted brothers knew better than to press her while she was in that mood. After Master Splinter had come home, she had spent most of the rest of the afternoon talking with him in private.

"I might be home after all of you," she was looking at Splinter now.

He nodded, agreeing. "Well, my sons, it is probably dark enough on the surface that we may go now," Master Splinter herded the four ten-year-olds out before turning back to Crystal one last time. "Are you certain you must do this, my daughter?"

"Yes, Sensei. I must."

--------------------

Crystal waited until her new family was safely on the surface before heading out herself. She went the opposite way as they had and finally climbed up close to her old home. There it was, just as she remembered it. She jiggled the door handle. Locked. She smiled a secret smile to herself. She pulled up the now filthy welcome mat then picked up the small key that had been lying underneath it.

"Just where I left it," she muttered.

After quickly unlocking the door, Crystal walked in her former home. Every sense was on the alert. Each muscle was tensed. She had been caught unprepared once before, and she was not about to let that happen again. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting and listening, Crystal relaxed.

The layer of dust covering everything had not been disturbed and there were no sounds coming from inside the house. She smiled. It felt good to be home, but also sad.

Being careful to not stir up too much dust, she made her way up the stairs and into her father's bedroom. She smiled sadly at the mostly dead bonsai tree sitting on the window sill. That one had been Furui's favorite. As she gently picked it up, several leaves fell off, bathed in the glow of the last light of the day as they made their way slowly to the floor. She took the plant into the bathroom and watered it. She then took it back out and placed it back on the sill.

As she placed it down, a small package came un-taped from the bottom.

On it was written in her father's handwriting: _To my Most Beautiful Daughter._

Gently, Crystal unwrapped the tiny package and a tiny seed fell into the palm of her hand. On the inside of the paper, there was a note.

_My Dearest __Crystal_ it said, _this seed is for you. Over many long years, I have watched you grow into a beautiful flower, and now, here is a beautiful flower for you to watch over._

With tears streaming down her cheeks, Crystal clutched the tiny seed to her heart and then shook her head.

"Keep on your mission."

She wiped her eyes and tucked the tiny seed into a pouch in her belt. She walked over to her father's dresser and pulled open the top drawer. Then, she lifted up the neatly folded shirts and pulled out the small book that had been hidden under them. It was her father's diary. Crystal began to read:

_March 4 – I just found out that my good friend __Yoshi__ was killed today by the Foot. Perhaps it is getting to dangerous here in __New York__. Maybe I should take __Crystal__ and move back to __Tokyo._

Crystal flipped a couple of pages, then read an entry dated about three years later.

_October 17 – I have just found out that the Foot is planning to build a new headquarters here in __New York__. It was on the news today, with plenty of celebration for __Oroku__ Saki. I am worried that now he will increase the size of his organization even more._

This was what Crystal was looking for. She continued to read.

_December 13 – I was summoned back to the __Utroms__ today. They, too, are worried about the expansion of the Foot. Now that the building is finished downtown, there looks to be enough room in it to house an entire army of ninja. __Mortu__ asked me to take on one more __mission__: to find the blue-prints of the Shredder's fortress so that they may enter it and destroy him._

There was only one more entry after that, and it was dated the day before the Shredder had attacked them.

_February 1 – I finally managed to locate a blueprint of the Foot headquarters. I had to steal it from the original architect, himself. It was the only copy with all the secret passages marked on it. The one downtown in the city records was missing so much information that I am surprised that it passed the building inspections. I will be giving it to the __Utroms__ tomorrow. I will probably take __Crystal__ with me. She is now old enough to be trained as a Guardian. I can barely wait to give her the present I picked out for her birthday next week. I hid it in my old shoe along with the blueprints for the Foot building. She will like it so much._

Crystal sighed. With all that had happened, she had completely forgotten about her birthday.

"Well, can't see one without seeing the other," she muttered to herself.

She went over to her father's closet and pulled down a shoe box from the top shelf. She cringed as she opened it. Furui always hid stuff there because he had known that the smell would have always kept her out. Quickly, Crystal grabbed a large zip-top bag out from under the old, reeking shoes and shut the lid on the box. The stench still permeated the room, so she took the bag downstairs into the kitchen.

--------------------

Crystal lay the bag down on the very dusty kitchen table and gently pulled out a carefully folded blueprint and a small box. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she opened the box first. Inside, there was a small, heat-shaped, golden locket. As she opened it up, soft tinkles wafted from it, forming the tune to "You are My Sunshine." Crystal smiled as she hung the necklace around her neck.

"OK, distractions aside, let's take a look at that map."

She spread the blueprint out, smoothing the creases.

"OK, entrances," she muttered to herself.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Crystal rolled her eyes, went over to one of the cabinets, and pulled out a bag of hard caramels. At least she was already in costume, she realized with a smile. She opened the front door. To her astonishment, there stood four ten-year-old turtles and a giant rat.

"Hi, guys, what are you doing here?" she said, surprised.

"Trick or Treat!" they all yelled.

"Duh," added Mikey. (He had just learned that word, and he loved it.)

"What are you doing here, Crys?"

Crystal winced. She hated it when they called her that. "This is where I used to live," she answered. "I was just visiting. Want to come in?" She stepped back from blocking the entrance.

"Nah," Raphael replied. "There's still more candy out there, just waiting for us."

"Sure you don't want to come?" Leo added.

"Yeah, I'd just slow you down. Here, you guys like these a lot more than I do." She dumped most of the caramels into their bags. "See you later!" She waved as they left.

Once again, she returned to the blueprint. Her finger traced along the outline of the top floor before coming to rest on a single room. "Perfect."

_**So, yeah, tell me what you think, please!**_


	2. Tragedy

_**Caylender:** Thanks! As you wished, here's more!_ **:-)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the turtles except for Crystal**

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An hour later, Crystal was on top of the skyscraper nest to the Foot's headquarters. Her eyes were riveted on the nearby roof. There it was: the weak spot in the Foot's defenses. Only five Foot ninja were guarding the skylight entrance. 

"Piece of cake," she thought to herself.

Suddenly, her body tensed. Someone, or something, was behind her. Then she relaxed.

"Come out, Master. I know you're there."

Splinter stepped out of the shadows. "Crystal, my daughter," he started.

Crystal interrupted him. "I know what you're going to say. 'This is a foolish mission that may accomplish nothing. Vengeance is not worth risking my life for.' But Master, there is much more than my life at stake here," she pleaded. "I need to destroy any information that Shredder has gathered about any of the other Guardians. You and I both know very well what he will do the moment he knows where another Guardian is. I can't let other families go through what I went through. I've got to stop him! I've got to–"

Splinter held up his paw, stopping Crystal's flow.

"No," he said simply, a strange light in his eyes. "I, too, wish to avenge my master. I simply am going to be coming with you."

Crystal stared at him. "But what about the boys?"

"My sons will be fine without me for a few hours. They are all on such, I believe you call it, a 'sugar-high' that they are literally bouncing off of the lair's walls. So now," he said, kneeling down beside her and watching the Foot soldiers pace back and forth on the roof. "Tell me what you know."

"Well," Crystal answered, "There is a sky light there," she pointed. "It leads directly into the main computer and information room. We wipe out the files; we wipe out all the information the Shredder has. It would take him years to re-gain all of that info. A simple in and out."

"How do you know that this will cause such an effect?" Splinter asked.

Crystal's face darkened. "The night of my father's death, during the fight, the Shredder grabbed my arm. I was almost unconscious. Shredder laughed as my father tried to make him let me go. Then, the Shredder said, 'I will do to you and this freak exactly what I will do to all of the other blasted Guardians. I know where they all are now. You have tried to hide from me, but I records of all of you. One by one, you shall all be destroyed.' A moment later, my father grabbed me and pushed me down into the sewer." Crystal sighed. "There is only one place in the entire building that he could be keeping those records. It is in that room."

"And how do you plan on getting across?" Splinter asked.

"With this."

Crystal un-slung a long rope with a grappling hook from around her waist. She spun it around her head for a moment, before letting it go with an expert flick of the wrist. The grapple landed with barely a sound and caught on the edge of the roof securely. The other ninjas did not even notice. As she tied down the rope, Crystal thanked her lucky stars that it was a moonless night.

Carefully, very carefully, Crystal and Splinter crossed the rope, twelve stories above the ground. Silently, like leaves dancing on the wind, Crystal and Splinter stepped onto the roof of the Foot, and then faded into the shadows. A Foot ninja stopped right in front of them, his back towards them. Within a second, a green, three-fingered hand shot out and gently pinched a nerve on the back of his neck. The ninja collapsed. Hearing the thud, the other Foot spun around. Later, one of the ninja's reports read as follows:

_The other ninja and I were standing guard on the roof. Everything was peaceful and quiet (well, as quiet as it ever gets in New York). Suddenly, from behind me, I heard a thump and a groan. I ran over to investigate, as did my companions. Lying partially in the shadows, Kiden was unconscious. My companions and I split up to search the rooftop, but we found no one and no thing other than ourselves. Then I heard another thump. Like Kiden, Ronny was also knocked out. I turned around to find myself the last ninja standing; all of the others were knocked out. Then, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around, only to see nothing. After that, everything went dark._

With the guards all out cold, Splinter carefully pried open the skylight and motioned for Crystal to go first. Two shadows dropped down into the room. It took a moment for their eyes to become accustomed to the darkness. The only light came from the stars above shining faintly through the glass, and a few flashing buttons on the computer. Carefully, Crystal ran her hand along some of the flashing lights. Suddenly, an enormous screen appeared along the wall, the sudden light almost blinding the turtle and the rat. After a moment, both of their eyes had adjusted to light. Crystal gasped as she read the screen.

_Guardian 384 – Terminated_

_Guardian 385 – Terminated_

_Guardian 396 – Terminated_

_Guardian 397 – Located_

_Guardian 398 – Scheduled for termination in three days_

_Guardian 399 – Terminated_

Tears welled in her eyes.

"I can change this information; I can delete it." She began typing, and then the information on the screen began to change.

Splinter's ears twitched. "Hurry, child," he whispered anxiously. "We may not be alone for much longer."

"Actually, you won't be _alive_ for much longer, you freaks," boomed a hated voice from behind them."

Crystal and Splinter spun around. There he was, standing before them, his armor glistening in the computer-generated light. It was the Shredder.

"I don't know what you freaks are or how you got in here, but rest assured," the Shredder growled, "you won't ever get out."

He sprung at them. Splinter and Crystal split, dodging the Shredder's attack. In a flash, Crystal's katana was in her hand.

"You should remember me, Shredder," Crystal hissed. "We've met before – when you destroyed my father." She swung her sword and the Shredder parried with his gauntlet while kicking Splinter back into the shadows.

"Yes, you I remember," he snarled. "You fought well, much better than that pitiful old man you called 'father.'"

The Shredder leaned backwards to avoid the swing of Crystal's sword.

"He was a much better fighter than you could ever hope to be!" she exclaimed, hot tears of rage welling up in her eyes. "You beat us only because you outnumbered us!"

She feigned a strike to the left, and then sent the Shredder flying with a swift kick to the stomach. He crashed through the wall into another room, filled with scientific equipment.

The pale light shone onto Master Splinter as he slowly picked himself up. Against the background of an enormous glowing tank filled with a blue ooze, two silhouettes dashed back and forth, striking in a terrible duel.

As Splinter rushed forwards to help Crystal, suddenly, the elite Foot Guards appeared from nowhere and surrounded him. He knocked them down, but every time he tried to join Crystal, the elite guards blocked his path.

_Clang!_ Crystal's sword bounced off of the Shredder's armor.

"You should join me, and serve at my side." The Shredder parried another blow. "Together, we would be unequaled, no one could stop us!"

Crystal snorted. "That's a pretty strange thing to offer to someone whose father was murdered by you!" She leapt backwards, dodging a blow.

"Then, die!" the Shredder growled.

He attacked with an even greater fierceness than before. All of a sudden, as Crystal swung her leg in a round-house kick, the Shredder grabbed her foot and spun her around, throwing her smack into the tank of ooze. As her hard shell met the glass, a long, dangerous crack spread across the surface of the tank; blue ooze started squirting out all over the room. Finally, the pressure was too much, and the tank broke, spewing ooze all over Crystal and the equipment behind her. Electrical sparks flew as the computers began to short circuit. Unfortunately, the blue ooze was flammable.

As several sparks landed on the flammable, blue ooze, Crystal ran. The ooze on her was already being absorbed into her skin, and she was starting to tingle strangely. With a mighty leap, she landed on and ran across the heads of the elite ninja surrounding Splinter.

"Come on, master! This place is going to blow!"

She and Splinter bounded up to the skylight, grabbed hold of the glass covering that was hanging down, and swung themselves up onto the roof as the Shredder and his minions chased them. One of the Foot guards was starting to come to, so as they ran on by, Splinter made certain to whack him on the head. Within a moment, they had reached the rope and started across.

When they were about half-way across, the Shredder yelled after them, "You will not escape me that easily! I will destroy you!" He raised his gauntlet, and with a swift swing, severed the rope.

_Falling, falling, falling._

Down and down Crystal and Splinter fell until quickly, Crystal grabbed the very end of the rope with one hand, and Splinter's leg with the other. Then, she swung Splinter up to the rope and they both began to climb back up to the rooftops.

"NOOOOOO!!!" the Shredder shrieked from behind them as the Foot headquarters burst into flames. "FOLLOW THEM! HUNT THEM DOWN!"

But the Foot ninjas were more concerned with putting out the fire spreading throughout the building. And so, Crystal and Splinter escaped from the Shredder. Together, they ran across the rooftops until finally, hoping down a fire escape, they returned to the sewers. It was not until the manhole cover was safely placed back on that Crystal dare to speak.

"Well, he won't be able to retrieve any of that data about the other Guardians now, if he even survives that fire." She leaned against the sewer wall.

"You have done a good thing, my daughter," Splinter said. "Because of you, many lives will be spared."

Crystal sighed wearily, then grasped her side and fell to her knees.

"Crystal! What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Crystal replied. "My side is just hurting where it hit that container of ooze." She got back up with a grimace. "I'll be OK."

After a moment, they both returned to the lair, where Leo, Don, Raph and Mikey had finally calmed down and were watching a horror movie on TV.

A day passed, and then another and another. By the time a week had gone by, Crystal's side had healed completely and life had returned to normal. But of course, life never stays very normal for long.

* * *

The five turtles were out in the sewers playing team hide and go seek. Crystal was "it," while her brothers had split into groups of two. Right now, she was on the track of Mikey and Leo. If it was Mikey alone, she knew that she could probably have found him within five minutes, but since Leo was with him, well, Leo was turning into quite the little ninja. 

Crystal smiled to herself. She liked a challenge. Suddenly, from around the next bend in the tunnel, Crystal heard murmured voices. Two large, shaky shadows rose up on the wall, and were coming in her direction. Quick as a flash, Crystal leapt up onto an overhanging pipe and melted into the shadows. To her amusement, the two shadows grew smaller as their makers approached. Around the bend, Raphael and Donatello were walking, deep in conversation.

"I'm telling you, Don," Raph was saying. "There's a giant croc that lives down there. Leo and I both saw it!"

"Uh-huh," Donatello answered in a disbelieving tone. They were almost directly under Crystal now. "I'm sure it would make perfect sense for there to be a huge crocodile lurking in the sewers of NYC."

Crystal swung down right in front of them. "And I'm sure it makes sense for there to be five mutated turtles down here too?"

Don and Raph jumped backwards, drawing their weapons. Crystal gracefully back-flipped down and landed in front of them.

"Easy, guys, it's just me!" She smiled. "You know the point of hide and go seek is that you hide quietly, right? I could here you coming a mile away!"

A snort came from down a nearby side tunnel, followed by the sound of a slap.

"OOOWWWW!" Mikey's voice echoed down the tunnel.

"Case in point," Crystal said, placing her finger to her lips. Don and Raph grinned at each other and silently followed Crystal to the entrance of the side tunnel.

Carefully, Crystal poked her head around the corner. All that she could see was a couple of stacks of old crates. Then, she turned back to Raphael and Donatello.

With a broad wink, she announced "Well, looks like there's nothing there. Let's keep looking for Leo and Mikey."

She motioned for Donatello and Raphael to follow her. Raph grinned. Both of the turtles immediately understood Crystal's plan. They walked down past the tunnel a little ways, then stopped and waited. Within a minute, an impatient Mikey stuck his head out.

"I think they're gone, Leo," they heard him whisper.

He and Leonardo carefully snuck out of the side tunnel and headed straight towards the others. Suddenly, Donatello and Raphael jumped their brothers. After a moment of utter confusion and rolling around on the ground, Leo and Mikey finally realized who had attacked them.

Once the four young turtles were done wrestling and were once again standing up, Crystal asked them, "So, what did you learn from this?"

Her younger brothers sheepishly replied in unison, "Don't talk when you're supposed to be quiet."

"Good," Crystal replied. "Want to race back to the lair?" Immediately, they all started running back home.

Mikey arrived there first, then Leo and Raph in a tie, and finally, Don. They collapsed in a heap, giggling.

"My sons," Master Splinter exclaimed, "What are you doing?"

"We just beat Crystal back," Mikey announced happily.

"We've never beat her in a race before," Raphael explained.

"Speaking of your sister, shouldn't she be right behind you?" asked Splinter.

"Yeah," Leo replied, "She'll be here any minute."

A minute passed, then ten, then a half hour. Splinter and his sons were starting to get worried. Finally, they all decided to go looking for Crystal. The four turtle brothers led their master back along the path they had taken. Still, there was no sign of Crystal. Finally, just a little beyond where the race had started, they found her.

Crystal was lying face down on the bricks. She wasn't moving.

"Hurry, we must get her home," Splinter exclaimed.

But before they could lift her up, she began to softly glow blue. Gently, Splinter turned her onto her back and the other turtles knelt down beside her. As she began to glow brighter, her eyelids flickered open.

"It's time for me to go," she whispered.

"No, no, you'll be OK, I know you will!" Mikey insisted, tears welling up in his eyes.

Crystal managed a faint smile. "Don't cry, Mikey. Maybe someday we'll meet again."

"But we need you, Crystal!" Leo argued.

"You won't need me much longer," Crystal gently grabbed Leo's hand. "Someday, the four of you will be the greatest ninja warriors in all the world. Make me proud."

With that, she closed her eyes again. With a sigh, her entire body was filled with light and she vanished.

"NOOOOOO!" Tears streamed down everyone's cheeks. After what seemed like an eternity, Splinter slowly got to his feet. Silently, the mourning family returned home.

End of Part 1


	3. Capture

_A/N: Here, In the Clutch of Evil officially starts. Thanks for your support!_

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. If I did, you wouldn't be reading this; you'd be watching it on TV.**

* * *

_As the months passed, the burning ache faded from the young turtle's hearts. Soon, years had passed and they grew older. As Crystal had predicted, they did eventually become the greatest ninja warriors that the world had seen for centuries. After they had also faced the Shredder, Master Splinter told them what had occurred on that fateful Halloween many years ago. Although they dearly missed their sister, many more exciting adventures were still ahead of them._

_Six years passed after Crystal's disappearance. The four turtle brothers were now sixteen and had faced many perils and dangers. Eventually, because of the Shredder's attacks, they were forced to move and were now living in an old, abandoned water treatment plant on the edge of Central Park._

* * *

Chapter 1 

Capture

The turtles were all in the dojo, training. Leonardo was practicing with his katana, Raphael and Michelangelo were sparing, and Donatello was sitting to the side, writing in his notebook. Suddenly, a great sphere of light rose up from the pools of water.

"What is that, Master Splinter?" Leonardo exclaimed.

"I do not know, my son," Splinter replied. "It is unlike the portals used by either the Daimyo or Usagi. I have never seen one like it."

"Be ready for anything," Leo told his brothers.

Battle-ready, the ninja brothers surrounded the orb. Raphael crossed his sai and growled. Michelangelo crouched, spinning his nunchucks. Donatello pulled out his bo staff and clutched it tightly. Leonardo drew out his second katana. Then, Master Splinter walked forwards and addressed the glowing ball.

"Welcome, visitor, to third-earth."

"You are Splinter-san?" the ball asked in a deep, soft voice. "And these are your turtle-sons?"

"Yes," Master Splinter replied.

No matter how well the turtles could have ever been ready, nothing could have ever prepared them for what happened next.

Five smaller spheres shot out of the enormous glowing ball. The smaller orbs circled the large one once, then each shot out, encompassing each of the turtles and Master Splinter. It felt like a million volts of electricity coursing through their bodies. One by one, the ninjas and their master blacked out. Leonardo was the last to fall. Right before slipping into unconsciousness, he cold dimly see figures coming towards him through the light. He weakly swung his katanas at one of the shadows. The shape jumped back and nodded to another shadow. The energy flowing through Leo became even greater than before. Then, all became darkness.

--------------------

Slowly, Donatello opened his eyes. His head throbbed. As his eyes took in his surroundings, Don realized that he was no longer in the lair. In fact, he had never seen this room before. The room was very small. The floor and three of the walls were made of stone. The fourth wall was a grid of thick metal bars with a metal door on one side. He was in some type of prison! Worse yet, his brothers and master were no where to be seen!

Don slowly got to his feet and walked over to the barred wall. The wall was open to a long passageway. To his relief, Donatello could see both Raphael and Leonardo in two, similar cells across the hallway. Raphael was coming to, but Leonardo still lay on the stone floor, unconscious.

The purple-clad turtle called out, "Raph! Raph! Over here!"

Raphael stood up, steadying his aching body against the wall. "Donnie," Raph exclaimed. "Where are we? And where are Master Splinter and Leo?"

"Leo's right next to you. Can you see Mikey?"

"Yeah, he's right next to you, still out. How about Leo?" Raph asked.

"He's still out, too," Don replied.

"Can you see Master Splinter?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," replied Raph.

By this time, Michelangelo was waking up.

"Whoa! It feels like my shell's been flipped inside out," the orange-clad turtle moaned.

"Mikey!" Donatello exclaimed. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," he answered, "all except for the mondo problemo of bein' in this cage."

Then he, too, stood up and walked to the front of his prison. From a certain angle, he could see both Raphael and Donatello. Suddenly, he caught sight of Leonardo, still lying on the floor.

"Hey, Dudes, like what's wrong with Leo?"

"I don't know, Mikey," Donatello replied.

"What do you mean 'wrong with him'?!" Raphael exclaimed, growing angrier by the minute.

"Well, he still hasn't moved," Donatello explained."

"Yeah, and he must have put up one shell of a fight, too," Michelangelo agreed.

"What do you mean?" Raphael and Donatello both asked.

"Well, I mean, whoever put us in these cages didn't chain US up, but Leo's got chains on his ankles and wrists."

"What!" Raph yelled, habitually reaching for his twin sai. Of course, they, like his brother's weapons, were gone.

"Are you sure, Michelangelo?" his brother asked. "I can't see anything from here."

"It's kinda hard to see," Mikey replied. "The cuffs are green and the chains are black. If I move over a foot, I can't see them either."

"Why, when I get my hands on whoever did that..." Raphael growled.

"Easy, Raphie-boy," Michelangelo said.

"Leo's waking up!"

--------------------

Leonardo groaned. Why could he barely move? He could distantly hear his brothers' voices. They were calling him. They seemed to be getting closer. He tried to sit up, but his left foot was caught on something. He opened his eyes and looked down at his foot. It was chained to the wall, as well as his other foot. His hands were also, so that he could only move them about three inches apart. No wonder he hadn't been able to move.

"Leo, are you all right?"

It was Donnie. The blue-clad turtle raised himself up onto his elbows and looked up. Good. Donatello and Michelangelo were alright.

"I'm fine," Leo answered. "Just a little banged up."

In truth, he was much worse. He felt like something had been probing his mind, reading his thoughts. He pushed the feeling to the back of his mind. No use worrying them with his own thoughts.

"Where are Raph and Master Splinter?"

"I'm in the cell right next to you, Fearless Leader."

"And Sensei?" Leo asked.

Mikey looked down, kicking at an imaginary rock. Don coughed, looking away.

"The truth is, Leo," Raphael finally answered, "we don't know. None of us knows where he is."

"Oh," Leonardo replied.

Now he was even more worried. He had to figure a way to get out, to get his brothers out. And now, he had to find his master, too. This was not turning out to be a good day.

"Penny for your thoughts, bro," interrupted Michelangelo.

"Oh, it's nothing, just trying to see if I can come up with a way to get out of here," Leonardo replied.

Now that he was more coherent, he tried to stand up. It was very difficult because of the chains, but he finally succeeded. Just then, a door opened at the far end of the hallway.

Michelangelo had the best view of who was coming through the door. Three men (or at least Mikey assumed they were men) walked over and stopped in front of Leo's cell. Their skins were varying shades of blue, and their hair was pitch black. They wore deep red tunics that had strange symbols embroidered in gold running down the backs and sleeves. One was clearly the leader. He wore a short, golden helmet and carried a ring of keys. He inserted one key into the lock on Leonardo's cell door. Then, all three men entered. Suddenly, without a word, two of the men hit Leo hard, knocking him into the wall he was chained to.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" yelled Mikey.

"Don, what are they doing?" yelled Raphael.

"They're beating up Leo!" Donatello exclaimed.

"When I get out of here," began Raph, "I'm going to make you bozos wish you had never been born!"

Meanwhile, Leo was doing his best to fend off the men's attacks. But finally, the two men succeeded in knocking him to the floor. Leo fell hard. The two men held him down while their leader unhooked Leo's chain from the wall and wrapped the remaining portion tightly around Leo's ankles. Then, the two thugs lifted Leonardo up by his arms and half carried, half dragged him out of the cell, down the hall, and out of the door.

"No! Leo!" Donatello cried.

"When I get my hands on you slimeballs..." Raphael called after the guards. The dungeon door slammed shut.

"Face it, bros," said Michelangelo, "He's gone."

"I wonder where they're taking him," Donatello worried.

"I'd like to know where WE are," Mikey replied.

--------------------

In the meantime, the guards and their leader were pulling Leonardo along what seemed to be an endless maze of rooms and passageways. Finally, they stopped in front of a large, ornately carved door. The head guard was clearly nervous. He smoothed his tunic and straightened his helmet. Then, he knocked on the door.

"Enter," said a voice. It was the same voice that had come from the glowing orb back in the turtles' lair.

The door swung open, revealing a magnificent chamber. Windows of stained glass adorned the walls, spilling multi-colored light all throughout.

Hurrying forwards, the guards forced Leonardo down into a kneeling position, his head held down, facing the floor. Next, the two thugs knelt on either side of the turtle, and their leader knelt in front of him. Leonardo's keen ears detected soft footsteps coming towards them.

"Your Majesty," began the guard's leader, "we have brought you the one you seek."

"Yes, I can see that, Captain Khali," the voice replied. "Let him raise his head so that he may gaze upon me."

One of the guards forced Leonardo's head up. Standing before him was a tall man. His skin, like the others, was blue. And yet, there was something strange, other than the obvious, about this man. He seemed ageless: neither young nor old. Also, there was a presence about him of dangerous authority.

"Untie his legs that he may stand," the strange man ordered.

Immediately it was done.

"Come, Leonardo, there is much we must discuss."

The guards roughly hauled Leonardo to his feet.

"Guards, go stand outside of the door," the tall man ordered.

As they left, the strange man addressed his captive. "Come, young one. I am sure you have many questions. Feel free to ask me."

"OK," began the turtle, "Who are you, how do you know my name, why have you kidnapped me and my brothers, and where is Master Splinter?"

Leonardo stopped. That was weird. It felt like someone or something had suddenly taken control of his thoughts, causing them to spill out in a rush.

The strange man smiled. "Well, first, I am Wanui, the king of this entire realm. I was the one who brought you here. I have been watching you for some time, Leonardo. There is something I want you to do for me."

"If there's just something you want me to do, then why did you kidnap my family?" Leonardo asked.

"I have been watching you," Wanui replied, his voice becoming softer, dangerous. "You see, Leonardo, I have seen that you live by a strict code of honor. And yet, I have also seen that your family is even more important to you. Yes, that is right, Leonardo," Wanui continued as the turtle gasped, horror in his eyes. "Unless you do all that I ask, your turtle brothers and the rat you call father shall be destroyed. As for where your master is, I'm not going to tell you," Wanui sneered.

Leonardo's shoulders drooped and he hung his head in defeat. "What is it you want me to do?" he asked.

"Well, it is really two things," Wanui answered.

He walked over to a window and stared out through the multi-colored glass.

"You see, Leonardo, there has been a rebellion rising up against my rule. My soldiers are well trained, but the rebels are much more skilled. That's where you come in. My scientists have found a way to read a person's mind and copy their fighting skills into another person. You, Leonardo, are the best swordsman in your dimension. With your fighting skills in my warriors, the rebellion will quickly fall, and our land shall be peaceful once more." Wanui stopped, seemingly lost in thought.

"And the second thing?" asked the turtle.

"One thing at a time, young one," Wanui smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. "One thing at a time."

--------------------

Meanwhile, back at the lair, Master Splinter stirred. It had taken all of his strength, but he had escaped capture.


	4. Escape

**_A/N: Now, a shout out of thanks for everyone who's reviewed._**

**_Caylender: Nope, but it's sure good for the story ;)_**

**_LeoTMNTGirl: Thanks!_**

**_Moogs: I'm glad to oblige ;) I was so glad to be able to re-read some of your stories too. (And it took me several times to spell disclaimer today, so don't feel bad)_**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. Give me a break already!**

* * *

Down in the dungeon, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo were trying to escape. They weren't succeeding. 

"Raph, try hitting the stone wall right next to the door hinges," Donatello suggested. He had just tried ramming the metal door. Not a good idea.

"Man, what I wouldn't give for a good screwdriver right now!"

Meanwhile, Michelangelo had found part of an old chain in his cell. He wrapped it around a bar that seemed sort of loose on the front wall and pulled with all his might. The chain snapped, and he fell backwards. "OOOWWW!!!" he complained.

Nothing the turtles tried was working.

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion from down the hall. The shock-wave it created knocked them backwards. A wave of dust came hurtling towards the brothers, making them cough and choke.

"Hurry, we don't have much time!" yelled a woman's voice.

As the dust and debris settled, the turtles could see two men and a girl hurrying through the hallway, unlocking the cells. Many blue-skinned prisoners ran out and down the passageway. Finally, they reached the turtle's cells.

"Come with us if you want to live!"

The turtles rushed out and ran after the girl and the two men back down the hallway and through the now gaping hole in one wall.

"Everyone out!" the girl shouted to the large group of people congregated there. "Hurry, the guards will be after us soon!"

Outside, there were three large, grey-ish _things_. Each one was shaped like a half-dome, with the flat side facing downwards. There were no visible windows. They were hovering about a foot off the ground. A large door opened downwards on each one, creating a ramp into them.

Everyone split into groups of about ten, and climbed into the transports. The turtle brothers were in the last transport. It was piloted by the girl who had rescued them. As the gangplank rose, a squadron of guards came rushing out and open fired on the three crafts. The blasts from their laser pistols were not unlike those from a Triceritron laser gun.

"Hang on, everyone!" the girl yelled. The transport shot forwards, knocking Mikey back on top of Raphael. That, of course, annoyed hot-headed Raphael.

"Didn't you hear the lady, shell-for-brains?" he berated Mikey as he pushed his brother up.

"Sorry, dude," Michelangelo replied with a sheepish grin.

All of a sudden, Donatello remembered. "Wait," he yelled hysterically. "Leo's still in there!"

--------------------

Up in Wanui's chamber, both Wanui and Leonardo were knocked to the ground with the blast.

"Guards!" yelled Wanui, scrambling to his feet and running to the door. He jerked the door open, stepped out, and closed it behind him.

Leonardo could not hear what they were saying. Wanui reentered the room, looking much calmer.

"You see now why we need you, Leonardo. That was a rebel attack. They tried to blow a hole in my castle's wall, but they did not succeed. Come, now, we must go to the science lab quickly."

--------------------

Up in the transport, Leonardo's brothers were panicking. Raphael made his way up to the front of the craft.

"Lady," he said, addressing the pilot, "you have to let us off. Our brother's still in there!"

"But there was no one else in the dungeon," the girl retorted.

"The guards had taken him right before you got there!" Raph explained, exasperated.

"Well, we cannot turn around now, green one," the girl told him. "We are not out on firing range yet. We will discuss this when we reach H.Q."

Just then, a blast rocked the transport. Several of the other passengers cried out in fear. A red light started blinking on the control panel. A radio buzzed in.

_"Kuruma 3, come in. What is going on?"_

"We are under fire!" the girl yelled into the receiver. All Kuruma changing to manual mode!"

She pushed something on the console, and the front wall opened up to reveal an enormous windshield. A control stick levered down from the ceiling. None of the turtles had realized how fast they had been going. The city below them was rushing by.

"Prepare for evasive maneuvers!"

--------------------

Wanui led Leonardo, who was flanked on either side by the red-tunicd guards, down another series of passageways. They reached what seemed to be a dead end. Then, Wanui clapped his hands twice, and the wall opened, revealing a room full of scientific equipment. It was like an expanded version of Donatello's room.A white-coated man came hurrying up to them.

"Your Majesty!" the man exclaimed, bowing low.

"Leonardo, may I introduce our top scientist, Shiro-washi. He is the one who will be working with your mind," said Wanui. "Rest assured, he knows what he's doing; he invented this process."

"Oh, er, yes," Shiro said nervously. "Would you come this way please?"

He took Leo by the arm and led him over to a glass enclosed room. In the middle of the room, was a restraining chair with wires running all over most of it.

Turning to Wanui, the scientist said, "The turtle must be restrained in that chair in order for the process to work."

"Then it shall be done," his king replied. T

he guards unchained Leonardo's wrists and bound him to the chair.

"This may hurt," Shiro told Leonardo. All of the blue men walked out of the glass room, closing the door behind them.

--------------------

After much maneuvering and skillful flying, the three transports were safely out of range. Luckily, none of the crafts had sustained too much damage. Now that they were out of immediate danger, the turtles could more easily observe their rescuer. She was young, no older than twenty years, by Earth's standards. Her skin was a pale, pale blue. It was almost white. Unlike the prison guards, whose hair had been pitch black, the girl's hair was a deep blue and tied back in a long braid. She wore a short, simple grey tunic over tight, legging-like dark grey pants. Her feet were bare. She steadied her slight body against a metal bar that was directly behind her. "Automatic resume," she said, pushing a blue button. The windshields closed with at snap. Relieved, the girl wearily leaned back against the pole.

"We are out of danger, for now," she announced."Alright, green ones," she continued, addressing the turtle brothers. "Once we arrive at Headquarters, my superiors will want to talk to you. They will be the ones who can help you get your brother back." She smiled, and then warned the turtles, "I will tell you, the commander will be very curious about every part of your lives. You know," she went on, nodding her head at the other blue-skinned escapees, "you aren't exactly the norm here."

Donatello smiled back and replied, "Yeah, we know. Thank you for rescuing us. This is Michelangelo and Raphael. I am Donatello."

"It is very nice to meet all of you," the girl replied, bowing in an oriental fashion. "My name is Yumi."

--------------------

In the science lab, Wanui and Shiro-washi were standing in front of a control console, talking. From inside the glass room, Leonardo could not hear what they were saying. Knowing this, the two men conversed freely.

"How long will this take, Shiro?"

"Well, taking into consideration what your Majesty has told me, regarding the strength of this creature's mind," the scientist replied, "the total process should require approximately two days."

"Then we must start now, before he has a chance to learn that his entire family has escaped me."

"Yes, your Majesty," Shiro-washi replied.

His nimble fingers worked a series of levers and buttons. From the ceiling in the glass room, a mechanical arm lowered down, holding a thin metal band. The band was carefully placed around Leo's forehead, above his mask. It instantly tightened so that it fit perfectly. Leo felt a slight shock, but nothing like the one when he and his brothers had been captured.

"It is finished," Shiro-washi said. "The mind control amplification device is operational."

--------------------

Leonardo lay on the floor in the room where the guards had left him. It was a different cell than before. This cell was a bit nicer. There was a chair and a small table in one corner. High up along the back wall was a tiny window, just big enough to let in some light. But other than that, it was very much the same. It was still a prison.

Leo got up. His head hurt. He felt as though all the energy had been drained from his body. Walking over to the table, he noted that a cup of water and a bowl of a strange-looking goop had been placed there. But the chair was what Leo was more interested in. He picked it up and placed it by the window. Climbing up on it, he looked out the window. Far off, just above the horizon, Leonardo could see three dark specks, and then they were gone. Little did he know that his brothers were in one of those specks.

He sighed and climbed down from the chair. The window would not offer him means of escape. He would be lucky if one of his arms could fit through it. Even if he could have somehow gotten out that way, the drop was at least two hundred feet. He knew he couldn't survive a fall like that.

"I have to find a way out," he thought. "My brothers and master are counting on me. Maybe if I... Huh?"

Leo stopped, confused. He knew he had been thinking about something, something important. But what was it? He tried to remember, but he only drew a blank. As when he had first met Wanui, he felt a presence in his mind. Something was not right.

--------------------

April O'Neil was coming to visit her friends, the teenage mutant ninja turtles. She was walking along the tunnel that the guys had excavated between her basement and their lair. It took a while (after all, it was a long tunnel), but at last she arrived.

"Hey, everybody!" she yelled.

"That's weird," she thought after listening for a few moments. "No one's answering. I wonder if they went out, but I thought they were expecting me."

She walked in a little farther, then called, "Leo! Raph! Donnie! Mikey! Master Splinter! Any one home?"

Then she heard it. A faint moan was coming from the dojo.

"Guys!" she yelled, running towards the dojo. "Guys, are you OK?"

Hurrying into the dojo, she stopped. Master Splinter was lying on the ground. He looked like he was hurt rather badly. The turtles were no where to be seen. April ran over to Splinter and knelt down beside him. He stirred and opened his eyes.

"Miss O'Neil?" he asked weakly.

"Master Splinter, are you all right?" April questioned, concern filling her eyes.

"W-where are my sons?"

"I don't know," replied April. "They aren't in the lair."

"Then it is as I feared," Master Splinter mused.

As he slowly sat up with April's help, April asked, "What happened, Master Splinter? Who did this to you?"

"We were attacked by an unknown enemy from another dimension. I must contact my friend, the Daimyo, quickly. I fear my sons are in the clutch of evil!"

--------------------

Meanwhile in the transports full of escapees, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael were talking with Yumi.

"Where are we?" Donatello asked her.

"This is the country of Netia," Yumi answered. "Netia is currently the ruler of this dimension, fourth-earth."

"Huh, cool," Mikey exclaimed. "Just one dimension off."

Yumi gave him a strange look.

"We're from third-earth," Donatello explained.

"I see," Yumi replied. "You don't look at all like the pictures of the inhabitants of third-earth."

"We're not exactly the norm there either," Raphael said.

A metallic voice spoke from the control panel. _Approaching headquarters.__ Landing sequence initiated._

--------------------

In his cell, Leonardo was meditating. Again and again, he had felt a presence in his mind; an otherness that he could not control. And so, he was meditating. Perhaps by clearing his mind, he could pinpoint what was causing this strange feeling.

--------------------

Up in his chamber, Wanui was discussing his plans with his pet Ryuu. Ryuu was a strange creature, half bird, half lizard. Meditatively stroking Ryuu's scaly feathers, Wanui muttered quietly.

"Yes, that's right, Leonardo. Try to block me out. It will not be as easy as simply meditating, though. You shall see. Your brothers' escape with the rebels is actually quite fortunate. They shall be certain," Wanui continued, "to come and try to rescue you. Then my plans regarding you shall be put into motion."

--------------------

In his cell, Leo was still meditating. Then suddenly, his body tensed. In his mind, he could see pictures, like a memory. And yet, they were definitely not his memories. He could see a room. It was brightly colored with every color imaginable. In it was a very little blue-skinned girl, perhaps three or four years old. On her head, she wore a thin silver circlet that matched her pretty little silver gown. She was playing with her dolls. A door opened on the far side of the room and Wanui walked through it. The little girl immediately jumped up and ran over to him.

"Uncle Wa-wa!" she yelled excitedly.

"Hello, my little flower," he smiled, lifting her up in his arms. "I'm afraid I have some bad news. Your Daddy and Mommy just left on a long trip."

"When they coming back?" the little girl asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Do not worry, my flower," Wanui replied. "You shall see them again very soon."

Then the vision faded. Leonardo came to with a start. "What is going on?" he wondered.

--------------------

Up in his chamber, Wanui's body had become stiff. His dark eyes were glowing with a white light. His hand fell off of his pet. Ryuu squeaked and jumped into Wanui's lap. The sudden impact was enough to wake Wanui up. Slowly, his glowing eyes faded and he lifted Ryuu back up onto the arm of his chair.

"Interesting," he mused. "You are stronger than I had first thought, Leonardo. Never before has anyone read my thoughts. Interesting."

--------------------

"We are reaching the Level One security screening center," Yumi announced. "Here, all escapees may either be safely transported off planet or may join our army. As a security precaution," she continued, "you will need to pass a mind scan so that we may be certain that we are not infiltrated by spies."

"Uh, what's a 'mind scan'?" Michelangelo asked nervously.

"Certain Netians have the ability to read minds," Yumi answered. "Other Netians have the power to teleport, to detect the presence of other Netians, etc. It's rather complicated."

Then, the metallic voice buzzed in again. _Landing sequence completed. Prepare to disembark._

The hatch opened downwards, revealing a bustling hanger. Just like at an airport on Earth, a tunnel eased out of a nearby wall and attached to the transport's side.

"Will everyone please follow this walkway until you reach the end," Yumi requested. "Then, please be patient while the mind scan is in progress."

All of the blue-skinned refugees began to hurry off. The turtle brothers began to follow them, but Yumi stopped them.

"Wait," she said. "You three do not need to go through the mind scan. I already scanned you while we were talking."

"What!" Raphael exclaimed, blushing.

"Do not worry," Yumi replied, laughing. "I didn't read about crushes, loves, or anything like that. This will just make it at least a little faster for us to be able to rescue your brother."

She pushed another button on the control consol, and a smaller door opened opposite to the other door. "This way please."

Yumi led Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo through the hanger and over to a large room. There were chairs all around, along the walls.

"Wait here," Yumi said.

She went over to a door on the other side of the room and knocked twice.

"Come in," a voice called from inside. Yumi entered and saluted. She closed the door behind her. The turtles sat down near the door. From inside, they could faintly hear Yumi and another voice talking.

"Sir, they have come."

"Already? It is unusual for the _maboroshi_ to occur so quickly."

"I know, sir, but they have come. Unfortunately, their brother was taken before we could get to them."

"Then we must do all we can to retrieve him. Bring them in please, Yumi."

The door opened and Yumi came half-way out. "Come on in," she invited. "My commander would like to talk with you."

Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo stood up and walked into the room. Inside was a Netian man sitting behind a large desk. He was old and wizened. His hair was pure white. He had a long, white beard that was braided into two lengths. He wore a long, white coat over a white unitard.

"May I introduce Commander Hatsu-yuki."

The man stood up and shook hands with the turtle brothers. "Please, sit down," he requested, once introductions had been made. He motioned to three chairs placed by the desk.

"So I understand that your brother is still inside Wanui's stronghold," Hatsu-yuki stated.

The three turtles looked at each other blankly. "Who's Wanui?" Michelangelo asked.

"You didn't tell them?" Hatsu-yuki questioned Yumi.

"No, sir, there was not enough time," Yumi explained.

"Before we continue, then," Hatsu-yuki replied, "let me tell you why we are fighting."

"Almost nineteen cycles ago," Hatsu-yuki began, "Netia was ruled by the Taku clan. Our king, Hayai, was a good king. He was fair and just. He and his wife, Tanoshii, had a little girl named Hanna. It was a time of peace and prosperity for Netia. But then one day, Wanui, Hayai's brother, came to stay with the royal family. Within a week, King Hayai and Queen Tanoshii were dead. Wanui pretended to morn the loss of his brother, but few people believed his sorrow. It was plainly Wanui's intention to ascend to the throne. However, because of little princess Hana, he could not. However, he did take on the roll of guardian-in-chief, supposedly until little Hana was old enough to rule. His charade continued for another cycle, but then Hana disappeared. Her body was never found, so her where-abouts have remained a mystery to this day.

"However, now without anyone in his way, Wanui could become king. He did so as quickly as he could, before anyone could stop him. Unlike his brother, Wanui is cruel and calculating. He commissioned his top scientist, Shiro-washi, to develop a way to control the rebelling population. What he devised is a terrible device. It is a form of mind control that allows Wanui to control every part of a person, from their thoughts, to their movements, to their deepest fears. Little by little, Wanui has had the skilled fighters of his army go out and kidnap civilians. Then he gains control of their minds and adds them to his army. These are fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters. There is hardly a single family that has not lost a loved one to him. Although Wanui intended this as a way to demoralize the people, it has merely increased our resolve against him. This is why we fight," Hatsu-yuki concluded. "We cannot allow this tyrant to destroy our very souls."

"Then why did this Wanui kidnap us?" Donatello asked.

"I do not know," Hatsu-yuki replied. "But you can be sure that for whatever reason, it is not good."

"Last night, many Netians had a _maboroshi_, a group dream, of four strangers from another land, who would tip the balance of this war," Hatsu-yuki told the three turtle brothers.

"Usually, the _maboroshi_ gives us more warning," Yumi explained. "However, we already had had a rescue planned for today, so it all worked out. We did not know that you would arrive so soon."

"The first thing we need to do, though, is get your brother away from Wanui, before it's too late."

"What do you mean, 'before it's too late'?!?" Raphael asked, annoyed at the prolonged inaction.

"If he is left in Wanui's power long enough to allow Wanui to gain complete control, then he will be unable to do anything without Wanui directly affecting him."

Donatello and Michelangelo looked at each other uneasily. Hatsu-yuki opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a roll of parchment and spread it out. It was a blueprint of a complex structure.

"This is Wanui's fortress," he said. "We'll need to get in and access this room, here." He pointed to a room that was marked with green. "This is Wanui's main database. Since we destroyed a good portion of his dungeon, it is highly unlikely that your brother, Leonardo, will be held in there. The database should be able to tell you where your brother is."

"What are these rooms that are marked in red?" Donatello asked.

"Those are the 'avoid' areas. That is where there is the heaviest concentration of traps, guards, etc. Oh, and this one is Wanui's throne room."

"These parts marked in blue," Yumi added, "are the 'safe' ways. Wanui hasn't found most of them yet."

"Yumi, I want you to take Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo," Hatsu-yuki ordered. "You will go along the safe ways as much as possible. Remember, this is a snatch and grab. Do not draw attention to yourselves. Avoid confrontation if at all possible. You know what to do in order to get in, Yumi. You will go tonight. Now," he added, standing up, "the four of you need to go to the armory and pick up any tools or weapons that you might need."

"Yes, sir," Yumi saluted.

"Yes! We get weapons again!" Raphael whispered excitedly to Mikey.

"I hope they have some really cool nunchucks," Mikey whispered back.

The turtle brothers all thanked Hatsu-yuki profusely and left the room with Yumi.

Yumi led Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo back through the hanger and along a different passageway.

"I just have one question, Yumi."

"What is it, Donatello?"

"Well, when we first told you that we're from third-earth, you said that we didn't look like the pictures of the people there."

"Yeah," burst in Mikey. "But I seriously doubt you got any pictures as handsome as me."

Raphael slapped at Mikey, who ducked just in time. However, Raph was expecting this, and immediately brought his other hand up quickly. Mikey did not move in time.

"Anyway," Donatello continued, rolling his eyes at his brothers' antics, "how do you know about our world?"

"I know from here," Yumi replied, as they walked into an enormous room.

There was a crystal-clear pool in the middle of the floor, with a small, glass-like island rising up out of it. The ceilings were at least thirty feet high, and were slanted up and down at many angles. They were painted with stars, forming both strange and familiar constellations. The room had eighteen walls. Two of the walls had doors in them, one of which the turtles and Yumi had just come through. The other sixteen walls had enormous tapestries hanging from the ceiling and reaching all the way to the floor. Each one was covered in a multitude of ever-changing scenes. The brothers gasped in amazement. Yumi led them over to one tapestry in particular.

"This is third-earth."

There were figures moving on and off of the cloth.

On one part, a Middle-Eastern man and girl were being married. On another, a flock of sheep was grazing upon a gloriously green hill under the watchful eye of a shepherd boy. As they watched, other scenes came into view, and the previous ones faded away.

"These are the events that have shaped your history," Yumi told them. "Although they may not look like much, without them, everything about your world would be completely different. Come now, we don't have much time. We must go and see my friend, Sasori. He is our weapons master, and might be able to go with us. If he can, he will be a great help since he can sense the presence of the guards."

Raph caught a strange sound in her voice and gave Yumi a strange look.

"What is it?" Yumi asked, seeing his face.

"Your _friend_?" Raphael asked with a smirk.

Yumi blushed. "Yes, Raphael, my _friend_. Let's go."

They walked around the pool, and out the other door.

The next room was an enormous dojo. There were people sparing here and there. Some were shadow boxing; some were doing things that, well quite frankly, the turtles had no idea what they were doing. They walked with Yumi over to where two men were sparing. They were using some sort of marshal art; however, it certainly was not ninjitsu. One man was one of their rescuers. He looked exactly like Hatsu-yuki, except many years younger. Like Yumi, he wore a completely grey outfit. He caught sight of Yumi and the turtles standing, watching the match.

"Just a moment," he called. "We'll soon be done."

His opponent suddenly did a high spin-kick, but he ducked and, with his right foot, pulled the other man's leg out from under him. The other man landed flat on his back. "Oof!" The victor helped the other man up, and they bowed to each other.

"Well done, Tori. You are definitely improving."

"But not enough to be able to beat you yet, Sasori," the other man replied, sheepishly.

"You'll get there, my friend. Don't worry about that."

He turned towards the four observers. "Well, Yumi, who do we have here?"

"This is Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. They are ninjas from third-earth," Yumi replied. "Their brother, Leonardo, is being held by Wanui."

"And let me guess," Sasori cut in, "my father sent you down here to get weapons so that you can go rescue him."

Yumi smiled. "Correct on every point."

"Then let's go get you all geared up. So you guys are ninjas?" he asked the three turtles as they walked into a smaller, adjoining room.

"Only the best ninjas in all of New York City!" Mikey exclaimed. Donatello rolled his eyes.

"O...K...," Sasori said slowly. "Anyway, I hope we have weapons you are used to, since we haven't had any ninja in this dimension for over two hundred cycles. So feel free to look around."

On one side, the room that they were in was lined hundreds of swords, guns, and other kinds of weapons were hanging from hooks along the wall. On the other side, shelves reached from floor to ceiling. They had all sorts of miscellaneous things on them. Mikey saw something on a nearby shelf and picked it up.

"Cool! These have got to be the best nunchucks I've ever seen! They're nice and light, but really hard," he said, starting to twirl them around.

In a flash, Sasori was next to him and had disarmed him. "Those aren't nunchucks, Michelangelo," he said, carefully setting the things back down on the shelf. "Those are high powered explosives."

"You mean if I had bumped it wrong I would have . . . have . . . ." the orange-clad turtle realized, his eyes growing big.

"Yes, but luckily you didn't," Sasori replied.

"Next time, ask what it is before you touch it, shell-for-brains," Donatello admonished him.

Turning to Sasori, he asked, "Do you have a bo staff?"

"We certainly do," Sasori replied. He went to the far side of the room and picked something off of the shelves and handed it to Donatello. Although it was the width of a bo staff, it was only six inches long.

"If you press the sides like this," Sasori said, reaching over and squeezing the small bar, "it will extend to eight times its current length." The staff shot out to a normal size. "Then, when you're done with it, squeeze again and it will shrink back to the original size."

"Sweet!"

"Have any sai?" Raphael cut in.

"Certainly." Sasori lifted two sai from a hook on the other wall. "Just push this button, and they create an ultrasonic frequency that can cut through almost anything. However, the sais must be touching whatever it is that you want to cut through and it can't cut through trigiumian, the hardest metal in this dimension."

"Yeah, but who cares," Raphael replied, twirling the two sai. "These are good enough for me."

Seeing the awesome weapons that his brothers got, Mikey asked, "Do you have any nunchucks that won't blow up in my face?"

"I am sorry, Michelangelo, but there are no nunchucks in the entire armory. The knowledge of how to use them died out a hundred cycles ago."

"Oh," Mikey replied, deflated.

Seeing Michelangelo's sad face, Yumi took pity on him. From the shelf behind her, she lifted up a sanjiegun and handed the three-part staff to him.

"This is the closest thing we have to nunchucks," she told him. Michelangelo took a couple of practice swings, and almost hit Donatello in the head.

"Sorry, bro," he apologized. "I'll need to practice a bit. Thanks, anyway, Yumi."

"You are welcome, Michelangelo," she replied.

Turning to Sasori, she blushed and stammered, "I...I was wondering if you would like to come with us."

Sasori's eyes lit up, and he seemingly did not notice Yumi's embarrassment.

"I would love to," he answered. "Any excuse to embarrass Wanui is a good excuse for me!" He seized a bag from a hook near the entrance. "We'll need this, and this, and this." He grabbed various items from the shelves.

"Raphael, would you hand me that blue bag behind you?" he requested.

"Sure," Raph replied. He picked it up and gave it to Sasori. "Ugh, what's in that? It feels like there's something alive in there!"

"Trust me, Raphael, you don't want to know."

Meanwhile, Yumi had strapped two swords on her back. She picked another up and handed it to Sasori.

"Can't go unarmed," she smiled. "Now, if we have everything, let's go."

The five of them left the room and headed back to the hanger.

* * *

_A very quick A/N: Netia is pronounced "knee-she-ah"_


	5. Rescue

**Disclaimer: If you can read this, you're not too close**

* * *

On the way, Yumi explained the rescue plan to Sasori. He grinned in anticipation.

"OK, so just quietly sneak Leonardo out from right under Wanui's nose. That should vex him, all right!"

Once in the hanger, Sasori brought them over to a sleek, aerodynamic craft. It was similar in design to the stealth bomber, but was much larger.

"Everyone in," he said, helping Yumi up.

He and the turtle brothers climbed up and strapped themselves in. The inside was amazingly high-tech and streamlined.

"Wow, this is amazing," Donatello marveled.

"Thanks, I built her myself," Sasori replied. "Just wait until she starts flying. She's got every type of weapon, a cloaking device, and a state-of-the-art super-sonic ionic engine."

"Sweet!" Donatello exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, we cannot go the entire way in Sasori's favorite toy," Yumi informed him as they were receiving clearance for take-off.

"Since we need to get in undetected, riding along with a sonic boom would not be the best way to arrive. We don't want to announce our presence to the world."

"Yes," agreed Yumi. "We will slow down nearby and land in a concealed area. Then we will sneak in through the secret passageways."

"But why couldn't we just UMPH!" Mikey was cut off as the jet took off and he was pushed back in his seat.

The world seemed to disappear outside of the windshield. For about a minute, all three turtles felt intense G-forces pressing on them. Then slowly, the forces decreased and the craft seemed to come to a halt. The world outside returned to normal. The jet was now simply hovering in the air. From where he was sitting, Raphael could see the engines rotate to erect positions and the jet descended vertically into a cluster of trees and shrubs.

"THAT WAS SO AWESOME!" exclaimed Donatello and Raphael together. Michelangelo just glared at them. Hopping out of the craft, he kissed the ground.

"Oh, Glorious Ground!" He turned to Sasori. "Man, next time, warn me that we're going to go that fast," he complained. "I almost lost my lunch!"

"Sorry about that," Sasori apologized.

"Well, Michelangelo, you will soon be sick of the ground," Yumi predicted, walking over to a clump of bushes. "Good flying, Sasori," she commented. "We're almost right on top of it." She reached down and pushed the thick branches aside, revealing the opening to a cave.

--------------------

Leonardo's stomach growled, waking him from meditation. He opened his eyes and looked over at the bowl of gloop sitting on the small table.

"Well, maybe it doesn't taste as bad as it looks," he thought to himself.

His stomach growled again, louder this time. With a sigh, he got up and walked over to the table. He picked up the bowl of gloop and used his fingers to scoop out a little bite. Carefully, he tasted it.

"Hmm, not bad," he thought. "Doesn't really have a flavor."

Within a few minutes, he had finished the gloop off. He yawned and shook his head. He felt so groggy. Again, Leonardo shook his head. He couldn't think straight. The room seemed to spin.

"There must have been something in that goop..." he realized, moments before falling to the floor.

--------------------

Several minutes later, a guard knocked on the door to Wanui's chamber.

"Enter!"

The guard walked in and kneeled at Wanui's feet.

"Yes, what is it?" Wanui asked.

"The creature has eaten the bowl of ta-beru, your majesty," the guard replied.

"Was the potion in it as I ordered?" queried Wanui.

"Yes, Sire. He is sleeping quite soundly."

"Good," Wanui said. "His mind is much more vulnerable when he is asleep. I shall soon have complete control."

--------------------

Leonardo was dreaming. At first, his dream was filled with nothingness; colors dancing around, creating strange patterns. Then the patterns seemed to blend together. Gradually he could make out the lair.

_It was the old lair, his first home, from long before it was destroyed by the mousers. He could see his brothers, also, but they were young again, only seven years old. Mikey was reading a comic book. Donnie was playing with his remote control car. Raph was punching his first punching bag. Then, he could feel himself reach up and touch his mask. It was his old mask, the one that covered most of his head. He heard a faint footstep behind him, and turned around. Master Splinter was standing there, smiling down at him. _

_"Come, Leonardo," he said. "We must go and search for supplies."_

_Together, the left the lair and went out into the sewer tunnels. They walked along for a while, picking up useful items when they found them. After what seemed like an hour, Master Splinter had led him along a tunnel to an opening in the wall. Through the opening was an enormous chamber, criss-crossed with many pipes of differing sizes. Leo crept forwards and looked down towards the bottom and gulped. The bottom was so far away that it disappeared into darkness. _

_"Come, my son, we must cross to the other side." _

_Master Splinter stepped out onto the largest pipe and started to walk across. Leonardo looked down again. _

_"I'm not afraid of height anymore," he reminded himself. _

_With a deep breath, he began to follow Master Splinter across. The pipe was slippery and wet. Master Splinter made it safely across, but Leo was only about halfway across. Suddenly, Leo slipped and lost his footing. He grasped wildly for a pipe, anything to stop his fall, but nothing was there. He just kept falling and falling and falling..._

Leonardo cried out wildly in his sleep. Finally, he settled down as he passed into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Up in his chamber, Wanui's eyes were glowing white. He was grinning evilly.

--------------------

One by one, the turtles, Yumi and Sasori entered the dark tunnel.

"Don't we need some sort of light source?" Donatello asked, seeing that there were no torches, flashlights, or anything else that would create light.

"No, not yet," Yumi replied. "Just feel around with your feet or hold on to me or Sasori if you can't see. There is light just a little farther along."

As they went deeper and deeper into the cavern, it became darker and darker.

"You may want to hold on now," Yumi said after about fifteen minutes. "Our eyes are more adapted to the darkness than yours."

"How do you know that?" Michelangelo wondered while almost tripping over a small rock.

"She reads minds, remember, shell-for-brains?" Raphael walked smack into Michelangelo who had stopped right in front of him.

"Yes, that and we can hear you walking into things," Sasori laughed. He and Yumi each took the turtles by the hand and led them forwards.

Soon afterwards, a glimmer of light appeared ahead. As they got closer, they could see crystals embedded in the walls giving off a faint light. Now, there was enough light for the turtles' eyes to see the path ahead of them and it was a good thing, too, for one side of the path started to drop off steeply. Sasori took the lead.

"We need to go single file from here on."

They continued on for what seemed like a long while until they reached an enormous cavern. A beautiful, clear lake was gently lapping onto a shore made entirely of the glowing crystals. Strange reflections glided across the ceiling.

"There," Yumi pointed at an opening about halfway up the wall across the lake.

"Here, put these on." Sasori reached into his pack and pulled out bunches of socks and handed them around.

"What are these for?" Michelangelo asked, holding up one of the socks.

"Your feet," Sasori replied, giving him a blank look.

"I think Mikey meant what do these do," explained Donatello.

"Oh, these will let you walk across on top of the water," Sasori explained.

He stood up once he had finished putting on his own pair of socks, and walked over to the shore of the lake. Then, he stepped out onto the water. The moment that his foot touched the surface, the water froze solid, creating an icy stepping stone. He turned back and waved for the rest of them to follow.

"Cool!" Mikey jumped up and ran over to the water. Immediately, he started to skate across the lake. The others followed him more slowly.

As Raphael, Donatello, Yumi and Sasori reached the opening on the far side of the lake, Michelangelo was still far out in the middle, showing off. He skated back and forth, and finally did a double back-flip. However, he missed his footing and splashed down into the water.

"Hey! I can't get back on top of the water! Uh, guys, I could use some help here!" he yelled after the others.

Shaking his head, Donatello skated back for him. Reaching Mikey, he extended his bo staff and reached one end over to where Michelangelo was treading water.

"Grab on."

With a mighty pull, he got Mikey back onto the surface of the crystal clear lake. The two of them skated back over to the others. Sasori swung a rope around his head a few times, finally releasing it. It looped around a large boulder. As he pulled it taut, Yumi reached down into the now-shallow water and pulled up a glowing crystal.

"We will need this," she commented to no one in particular.

"OK, everyone up," Sasori announced.

One by one, they climbed up into the much darker tunnel. However, there was still plenty of light coming from the crystal in Yumi's hand. She took the lead. Donatello was walking right behind her.

"Yumi, I've been wondering, how come the Rebellion knows all these passageways that Wanui doesn't? And how do _you_ know them so well?"

"Well, it is rather complicated," she replied with a sigh as they walked on. "You see, by the time I was six cycles old, I had been living on the streets for as long as I could remember. I had taught myself to avoid being seen by Wanui's ever-increasing forces, which would kidnap anyone they found alone on the streets. So for a long time, I played a dangerous game of hide-and-seek. But one day, they had chased me into an ally-way that I could not escape from. I was captured and brought to the palace. For some reason, Wanui was not able to connect with my mind, and therefore, could not gain control of me. They tried every bit of technology they could to enter my mind. In the end, they did not succeed, but I had seen too much for them to just let me go. So I remained in the palace as a slave. Many times, I tried to escape. It was during those times that I discovered many of these passageways. Finally, I found this one that led to the outside, and I was free. Ever since then, I have been using my knowledge of Wanui's fortress to help the Rebellion."

Suddenly, the five rescuers stopped. They had reached a dead end.

"Great, now what," Raphael growled sarcastically.

"Now, you hold this," Yumi replied, handing him the crystal. She walked over to the enormous rocky wall and reached into one of the crevasses. There was a soft click, and the wall opened into a beautifully gilded hallway.

"OK, Sasori, this is your part. Is it safe?"

Sasori's eyes glowed for a moment. "Yes, it's safe for now, but we will have to hurry. Some guards are going to reach this hall in about five minutes," he whispered.

Yumi motioned for them to follow her and everyone stepped out into the hall.

--------------------

Back in New York City, Master Splinter was resting on the couch. His head was bandaged. April walked out of the kitchen, carrying a tea pot and cups on a tray. She set the tray down on the coffee table and poured out a cup of tea.

"Here you are, Master Splinter."

"Thank you, April." He took a sip appreciatively. "Is Casey on his way?"

"Yes, he should be here any minute."

"Good, then he will be able to stay here, just in case my sons return on their own."

April raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Master Splinter?"

"No, but it would be worse to bring him with me to the Battle Nexus. Also," Splinter added, almost as an afterthought, "it will give him something to do."

"Well, alright," April conceded.

Just then, Casey walked in. "Yo, what's up, April? Where's the guys? Whoa!" he exclaimed as he caught sight of the turtles' sensei. "Dude, what happened?"

"My sons have been captured and taken to another dimension." He stood up, leaning heavily on his walking stick. "April and I are going to enlist the aid of my old friend, the Daimyo. However, we need someone to stand guard, just in case my sons return before we do."

"Aw, comm'on, Master Splinter, I wanna piece o' the action, not just a bunch of cruddy sittn' around an' waitn'," Casey complained.

"But that is exactly why you must remain here," Master Splinter explained. "I am worried that my sons might accidentally bring along some unwelcome visitors, and they may need help."

"Oh, I gotcha," Casey agreed as April and Splinter started to leave the lair.

"Oh, and Casey," April said, giving him a hug, "try not to break anything."

Master Splinter and April traveled through the sewers for about a half of an hour. Finally, they reached the middle of town and climbed up into an alley. Master Splinter took a piece of chalk from inside his robe, and drew some symbols on one of the brick walls. Then, he started to chant. Water flowed up, creating, like it had many times before, a doorway into the Battle Nexus. Without a word, Master Splinter and April walked through it.

The streets of the Battle Nexus were quiet as the two rescuers walked along. April marveled at the beauty of the Nexus, for this world was entirely new to her. The deafening silence was broken only by their soft footsteps and the twittering of a small bird. It was not until they reached the Daimyo's palace that they saw any people. Two of the Daimyo's guards, who were standing by the door, bowed to Splinter as he walked into the palace. However, when April tried to enter, they barred her way with their long spears.

"It is alright," Master Splinter told them, walking back to April. "This is one of my pupils, Miss April O'Neil."

The two guards nodded their heads and raised their spears, allowing April to enter. Then together, they walked into the Daimyo's throne room. He seemed to have aged greatly since April had first met him at the turtle's Christmas party, so long ago.

"Ah, my dear friends," he said, rising from his throne and coming towards them with open arms. "What brings you to the Battle Nexus?"

"Something grave and terrible, my old friend," replied Splinter. Then, he related the story of his sons' capture. The Daimyo quizzed him on every detail.

"Hmm, I will return with you to your home and see if there are any traces of the portal still remaining. If so, I may be able to recreate the portal so your sons can come home."

--------------------

Meanwhile back in the lair, Casey was bored. He tried watching television, but there were only soap operas and home decorating shows on, so he turned off the TV and got up. He punched at Raphael's punching bag for a while, but after fifteen minutes, he was bored again. Then, he wandered around the lair and came across Donatello's workbench. There were several gadgets of all types spread around several blueprints.

"Hey, this is a cool-looking gizmo," he thought, picking up a small, red tube with something that looked like an inverted funnel on one end and a button on the other end. "I wonder what it does."

He pushed the button. Nothing happened.

"Ah, well, I guess Donnie-boy ain't finished with it yet."

He tossed it back onto the workbench and the funnel immediately broke off.

"Uh oh!" Casey muttered. "Don'll kill me if he finds this broke!"

He hurriedly tried to push the funnel back on. Finally, he had pushed it on hard enough that it didn't fall off. Then he realized that he had put it on backwards, so he hastily tried to pull it back off. In doing so, he accidentally pushed the button. The device immediately started whirring, and a bright light surrounded him. The lair became blurred as though he was spinning around very quickly. Then, just as quickly as it had started, the device, still in his hand, was quiet. However, he wasn't in the lair anymore. In fact, he was pretty sure that he wasn't on Earth anymore.

--------------------

Yumi, Sasori, and the three turtles hurried quietly down the pale green and gold hallway. Once again, Yumi was leading. Abruptly, she held up her hand, motioning for them to stop. She turned to one of the panels that was intricately carved with leaves and flowers.

"Keep a watch out," she whispered.

Immediately, the three turtles and Sasori circled around her. Sasori's eyes were glowing. Carefully, Yumi traced her finger along one of the golden branches until she reached the carving of a tiny bird. She lifted up the bird's wing; underneath was a button. The moment she pressed it, the wall swung inwards, revealing another passageway, equally as opulent.

"Hurry," Sasori hissed. "The guards will be here any moment!"

They slid through the opening. The panel closed behind them right as two red-tuniced guards walked around the corner. This hallway, although still as beautifully carved and painted, looked as though it had not been used in many years. There was dust on the floor. There were enormous spider webs draping across the ceiling. The paint was starting to peel off of some of the walls.

"Try to not stir up to much dust," Yumi said under her breath. "This passageway is not air tight, and I do not want a cloud of dust to reveal our presence."

They padded along softly, taking even more care than normal while walking. Then, a thought struck Raphael.

"Hey, Sasori," he whispered. "I was wondering why you guys don't seem to be worried about the guards detecting you like you can detect them."

"Oh, it's very simple," Sasori whispered back. "Once Wanui gains control of their mind, they are unable to use their gifts anymore."

"Their gifts?" Raphael was confused.

"Yeah, you know, their powers?"

"Ah! But why'dya call your powers 'gifts'?"

"Well, you see, when Netia was young…"

Suddenly, a huge spider dropped down from the ceiling, directly in front of them. Both Raphael and Michelangelo screamed and jumped behind Donatello and Sasori, who grabbed their weapons. The spider was almost seven feet wide, from foot to foot, and its fangs were as long as Leonardo's katanas. Donatello and Sasori prepared to attack, but Yumi held her arms out, blocking them.

"Wait!" she cried, "this is a friend!"

"Ah, it is good to see you again, Yumi," the spider said, gently touching Yumi's face. Its voice was like a soft, rough whisper.

"It is good to see you too, Ookii-kuchi," Yumi replied.

"You are looking very well," Yumi complemented Ookii-kuchi. "Has the portal supplied you with food to your liking?"

"Oh, yes," Ookii-kuchi replied in her hoarse voice. "However, I do sometimes become tired of those bothersome wasps. Sometimes I think I'm getting to be too old to catch those rambunctious things."

"Well, I do not think that you look a bit old," Yumi consoled her.

_Quick, follow my lead! _Her thought shot through the other's minds.

"Oh, she's very right you know," cut in Donatello. "You've got to be the nicest-looking giant spider I've ever seen!"

Ookii-kuchi turned to him, seeming to see him for the first time. Behind her, Yumi shook with laughter. After all, Ookii-kuchi was the _only_ giant spider Donatello had ever seen.

"Oh, er, thank you." Ookii-kuchi squinted in his direction. "And you are?"

"These are my friends, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Sasori. They are traveling with me," Yumi explained, walking forwards. "However, as much as we would all love to stay and enjoy your glorious company, we must hurry on. Our mission is very important and we cannot allow Wanui to discover us here."

"An important mission? Sounds exciting…" Ookii-kuchi sighed. "And I suppose you think that I might be too much of a distraction while you and your little friends sneak around the castle. If only I could have such adventures as you!" She sighed again, a look of wistfulness in her many eyes. However, one eye was slyly fixed on Yumi's face.

Just then, a flash of light filled the old, dusty chamber. Suddenly, a giant wasp, like the ones the turtles had encountered before with April, appeared in one corner.

"Excuse me for a moment," said Ookii-kuchi. She turned away from them and towards the wasp.

_Hurry, follow me!_ Once again, Yumi's voice filled their heads.

She rushed over to a nearby door and waved for the others to hurry. Raphael gave one final, fearful glance at Ookii-kuchi as he rushed through the door. Luckily, there were no guards in the new room. It seemed to be used even less than the room they had just been in.

"I thought you said that giant spider was your friend," Michelangelo said.

"Not exactly," Yumi answered. "But if you had tried to attack her, then she would have destroyed us all. She's more dangerous than she looks. We must keep moving before she realizes that we are no longer in her room of traps."

"If you knew about her and her traps, why did you lead us right to her?" Raphael asked, suspicious.

"I thought she was dead," was Yumi's simple reply. "However, now is the time for moving, not talking. We must finish what we came here for."

From behind them, the five rescuers could hear various terrifying sounds coming from Ookii-kuchi's chamber. With a finger to her lips, Yumi motioned for the others to follow her through a door on the far side of the small room. They continued on throughout the maze of secret passageways honeycombing Wanui's palace, the silence broken only by the soft padding of their feet and the occasional muffled sneeze brought on by the thick layers of dust in each subsequent room. Eventually, Yumi led them into a room without any other doors or windows. However, there was a grate covering a large opening.

_On the other side of that grate is the control room._ Even though her message was communicated through thought, it was still whispered. _I can gain temporary control of the guard's senses for about a minute,_ she continued. _During that time, they will be unable to hear or see us, but we will still need to be careful, be quick._ She motioned them over to the grate and pointed to a large control consol in the room. _That will tell us where Leonardo is being held. Sasori, how many guards are there? _

Sasori's eyes glowed for a moment, and then he held up three fingers. Yumi nodded. Her eyes started to glow.

Softly, Raphael pulled off the grate. "Finally, some action," he thought to himself as they climbed through the opening. But the guards didn't even stir.

While Donatello, Raphael, and the two Netians hurried over to the computer, Michelangelo walked wonderingly up to the completely immobile guards. Then he did what he knew best. He started to make crazy faces at them.

"Michelangelo! Stop that! You are making it very difficult to concentrate!" Yumi hissed, looking up from the computer's screen.

She looked back down, typing furiously. At another screen, Donatello was looking at what appeared to be a bunch of gibberish and lines. "I can't make out a word of this," he complained.

"Never mind now, I found him," Sasori exclaimed. "Luckily, he's on this floor. Actually, it looks like he's just down the hallway a little bit."

Yumi came over and looked over his shoulder. "You're right," she said, relieved. "Let's go, I cannot block out the guards' senses for much longer now."

After Sasori made sure that there were no other guards in the immediate vicinity, they hurried out of the control room and down the hall. The three turtle brothers were elated that they had finally found their brother. Soon, he would be free.

--------------------

In his cell, Leonardo was still unconscious. From the darkness of sleep, his dreams returned. They consisted of strange images; they seemed so real. First, he saw Casey, standing under an orange sky. As that image faded he saw his brothers and two strange people, a man and a girl, both with blue skin. Then, he saw Wanui. Wanui was undergoing a transformation. His blue body pealed away from him, revealing a dark shadow. The shadow was terrifying. It had horns like a ram. Its hands ended in razor sharp claws. Its eyes were glowing bright red. Then, Leo could feel the shadow fix its eyes on him. He wanted to turn and run, but he was unable to move. Closer and closer, the shadow came, opening a giant mouth filled with sharp and deadly teeth. Just as the shadow was about to devour him, a pure white light surrounded him and he felt at peace, more so than he ever had before. **Fear not,** a voice echoed in his head. It was as though music had somehow formed into words and come to him. **Fear not,** said the voice again. **There are great plans in store for you.**

Leonardo woke up.

--------------------

Sasori had detected Leonardo's presence and was now leading the others down another long passageway towards him. Then, he stopped, confused.

"What is it?" Yumi asked.

"He should be right there," Sasori replied, pointing at a bare wall.

--------------------

Leonardo looked up at the sound of voices. Right outside of his cell were his brothers and the people from his dream!

"I just don't understand it," the man was saying.

"Is there a secret room there, Yumi?" Donnie asked the girl.

"No, not that I know of," she replied.

"Guys, I'm right here!" Leonardo exclaimed, standing up and running up to the bars of his cage.

"Are you sure that's where you sensed him?" the girl was quizzing the man.

"Yes, positive," he replied.

"I'm right here!" Leo screamed, exasperated. He hit the bars with his fists. Electricity surged through him and he flew back about two feet and lay on the floor, unconscious.

--------------------

The wall that the rescuers had been looking at suddenly fluctuated.

"There must be some sort of cloaking device covering the entrance," Donatello realized.

Sasori walked over to the wall. He then pulled out a device from his bag and started scanning that section of wall.

"Great! It's an I.M.P. force field," he muttered, visibly annoyed. "Leonardo can probably see and hear us just fine, but we can't see or hear him."

"So, it's like a one way mirror?" Michelangelo asked.

"Something of the sort," Sasori replied.

"So, why'd it ripple like that?" Donatello asked, now intrigued.

"Your brother probably touched it as he was trying to get our attention. You can't see it from the other side and when you touch it, you get a nasty shock. Hey, what's this?" Sasori spotted a little green box almost touching the floor. He pulled off the cover to reveal two little buttons, one red and the other green.

"An on/off switch!" he grinned, pushing the red button. Immediately, they could see into a cell, where Leonardo was lying, unconscious, on the floor.

In a flash, Raphael had cut through the lock on the cell door. All six of the rescuers hurried to Leonardo's side. Donatello felt his brother's pulse and was relieved to find it normal.

"What's that thing on his head for?" Michelangelo asked, noticing the silvery band encircling Leonardo's forehead.

"That is the mind control device I told you about earlier," Yumi replied.

Silently, Sasori reached into his pack and pulled out the little blue bag that had felt as though something in it was alive.

"Would you mind keeping watch for a moment while we get this band off of your brother's head?" he asked, looking up at Raphael. The moment Raph's back was turned, he poured the contents of the bag – hundreds of little mechanical bugs – out onto Leo's head.

"This band is made of trigiumian," Yumi explained softly. "These nanobots were specially designed to devour it, and nothing else. While they are working, I will try to connect with Leonardo's mind and bring him back to consciousness."

It took only a few moments for the bugs to completely devour every last molecule of the trigiumian. Once they were done, Sasori scooped them up back into the blue bag. Then, to the turtle's joy, Leonardo started to stir and his eyes opened.

"Hey, bro! You're alright!" Mikey exclaimed excitedly.

"G-good to see you too," Leo replied. He sounded drained. Gently, Donatello helped him sit up as Raphael came over.

"How you doin', bro?"

"Much better now that I know all of you are safe," Leonardo replied.

"Yes, but not for long," a voice said from the cell door behind them. Instantly, the Netians whirled around, drawing their weapons.

"Wanui!"

There, blocking their only means of escape was Wanui along with about fifty of his soldiers, all armed to the teeth.

"I knew that you would come back for this one, you Rebel fools," Wanui said contemptuously. "But I really must thank you for bringing back my leverage." He jerked his head towards the turtles. "This will make it much easier for me."

"You will never take us alive," Sasori growled.

"Who said anything about taking you alive?" Wanui retorted.

"Finish off the Rebels, but leave the turtles at least partially alive. I still have use for them."

Luckily for the defenders, the soldiers could only come through the cell door two at a time. However, they came in so quickly that the turtles and Netian rebels were hard pressed. Michelangelo swung his sanjiegun around his head, like a lasso, coming down just in time to rap the heads of several men who were trying to surround him. His blades whirring rapidly, Raphael chopped through the various weapons his opponents were wielding, everything from swords to laser pistols. Meanwhile, Donatello had discovered a new use for his staff's ability to suddenly increase in length. He would wait until a soldier was close enough, and then would lengthen his staff, the force of which would send his opponent flying backwards. Leonardo had taken a sword from one of the soldiers and was knocking down Wanui's troops left and right as he slowly made his way towards Wanui himself. Behind him, Yumi and Sasori were back to back, working together flawlessly, their movements smooth and graceful. For a moment, it seemed as though nothing could stop the four turtle brothers and the two Netian rebels and soon, only a few of the soldiers were still standing. But then, Wanui, who had been hanging back, raised up both his hands and a flash of light zoomed from him, hitting Donatello squarely on the chest, knocking him hard against the wall. Then came another flash, and another. Within seconds, all six of thedefenders lay moaning upon the hard, stone floor. Leonardo was the first to recover. As he stood up, Wanui advanced towards him, taking a sword from one of his subordinates. The soldiers all fell back. Leo was immediately in front of him, blocking Wanui from reaching his family.

"I will not let you harm my family!" Leo swung the sword.

Wanui parried. "Then concede to me, Leonardo. That is the only way you can protect them."

"Never!"

Around and around they fought. Sword clanked against sword. To the two enemies, it seemed as though everything else in the room dimmed and faded away. It was only them, sword against sword, around and around. Then, Wanui swung with such force that Leo's blade flew across the room and embedded itself into one of the walls. Leo felt the cold steel point of Wanui's blade at his throat as his vision cleared. To his horror, he saw over Wanui's shoulder his semi-conscious brothers being seized by Wanui's guards, their arms pinioned behind them.

"Surrender or death are your only options, Leonardo," growled Wanui. "But even so, you shall watch as one of your brothers perish since you have tried to rebel against me."

"Stay away from my family!" Leonardo clenched his fists, each word coming out as though it was a sword directed straight at Wanui's heart.

"Destroy the orange one as well as those rebels," ordered Wanui.

"STAY…AWAY…FROM…MY…FAMILY!" A blinding glow radiated from Leo and then with a blast, the entire room was filled with light.

Several minutes later, Raphael was rubbing his eyes, blinking through the spots floating before him. The guard holding him had been thrown back against the wall with a sickening thud, but he himself was untouched. Michelangelo and Donatello were in a similar situation, while Sasori was helping Yumi up. Both of the Netians seemed to be in a daze. Wanui was no where to be seen. Leonardo was kneeling on the floor, panting. He was exhausted. Raph walked over to his brother and gently lifted him up, letting Leo lean upon his shoulder.

"I dunno whatcha did or how you did it, bro, but that was cool." Mikey took Leo's other arm.

"H-he's not gone for good," Leo whispered softly.

"It's fine, now, you're safe. We can leave and deal with Wanui later," Donatello assured him.

"Sasori, you need to summon your ship," Yumi ordered. "Wanui won't be gone for long and we need to be far from here by the time he returns."

Sasori pushed a small button on his wrist band. About five seconds later, a beam of light cut through the wall and shone into the room. "Everybody in!"

They were all teleported into Sasori's ship.

"Well, now we can go home," Yumi said, relieved. With a sudden jolt, the craft leaped forwards and headed back towards the Rebel's headquarters.


	6. The MisAdventures of Casey Jones

_Shout outs: Hey, if I didn't personally respond to your revies, please bug me about it!_

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. Only use it for loose screws ;)**

* * *

After much whirling and spinning, Casey found himself in a very strange land. Pale yellow clouds danced across a tangerine sky. A silver stream babbled alongside where he lay under a chartreuse tree. There were several tiny, golden birds resting in the tree; they seemed to take no notice of him. Slightly alarmed, Casey quickly got to his feet.

"What the heck just happened," he muttered to himself. "Where am I?"

He remembered now that he still had Donnie's device clutched tightly in his fist. Nothing was going to get it away from him now.

"Well, maybe I can use this thingamabob to get back again."

He tried pressing the button again, but nothing happened. No sudden 'whoosh.' No portal. Nothing. Disappointed, frustrated, and slightly mad, he threw the device down on the ground.

"That's no way to treat such a wonderful gizmo as that," a voice suddenly whispered from behind him.

Casey spun around. No one was there.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I frighten you?" the voice whispered again.

Once again, the voice came from behind him. Casey spun around, pulling a club from his golf bag. But once again, no one was there.

"Where are you?" Casey screamed.

The golden birds scattered in all directions, calling out in fright.

"I am your worst nightmare," the voice said, now seemingly behind him once more.

"But where ARE you?" Casey yelled.

The voice did not answer. For a moment, everything was perfectly still, except for the gurgling of the stream. Then the voice spoke again.

"'Twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wade. Remember, Mr. Jones. Remember."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Casey cried, more exasperated than ever.

But there was no answer; he was calling to the wind. He was completely alone.

Looking around, Casey saw part of a sign sticking out from the other side of the tree. He picked up Donatello's machine and shoved it into his pocket then walked around to read the sign. _SHHH! Beware of Jubjub birds._

"He, he, you really shouldn't have done all that yelling back there, you know." It was the voice again.

Casey looked up. Barely distinguishable among the colorful leaves was a bright yellow-green feathery fluff-ball hanging down directly over him.

"Yeah, they really have bad attitudes." Another fluff-ball popped down.

"Seriously, you really shouldn't have woken them up!"

"Yes he should have. It's been too boring around here."

"No, no, you know what will happen…" The first creature's voice trailed off.

Casey just stood there, in shock.

"Blood'n'guts again?" the second asked.

"Yep, blood'n'guts again."

They both turned to Casey. "Well, nice talking to you. Enjoy your last five seconds of life."

"Look, here they come now!" "Bye!" the two chorused and popped back up into the tree.

"Wait!" Casey called after them. "Who'd I wake up? And where the heck'm I? And what the heck are YOU?"

"SHHHH!!!!" Two more voices said from behind him.

Casey spun around to face the strangest looking creatures he had ever seen. Their bodies were like badgers, their rear legs and tails were like a lizard's, and their long noses were shaped like corkscrews. Casey pulled out his baseball bat and charged. He swung at the creatures and the stepped backwards, causing him to miss. Casey lost his balance and fell over hard. The creatures then sat down right on top of him, weighing down his legs and torso so that he couldn't move. He struggled against their weight, but it was too much for him. Then, Casey did something very uncharacteristic. He screamed. The two creatures looked at each other.

"He really is very loud, isn't he?" one said to the other; its voice had a very English accent.

"Oh yes, just like the Jubjub birds said."

"Do you think he's really a human?"

"Well, he would have to be."

"Why don't we ask him?"

"Oh yes, that would be a splendid idea."

They turned back to the still struggling Casey. "Excuse me, creature, would you mind stopping screaming and making so very much ruckus so as that either me or my sister might ask a query of you?"

Casey's voice had long since died down, but his mouth remained wide open.

"There, there, that's not so bad, is it now?"

"But you really should close your mouth. You look something like a cod fish."

Casey closed his mouth with a snap. Both of the creatures giggled.

"Oh, there now. So are you a Human or some sort of overgrown bandersnatch?"

"I-I'm a human and get off of me you weirdos!" Casey yelled.

"Oh we most certainly will," one started.

"If you promise not to attack us again," the other continued.

"Otherwise, we might be forced to gimble you," they finished together triumphantly.

"OK, OK, I give! Get Off!" Casey squirmed.

The two creatures promptly stood up and moved off of him. "Well now that we know what you are, let's hear your name."

"But I dunno what YOU are!" Casey retorted.

"Well alright, alright," the first one replied. "No need to get your knickers in a twist. My name is Blood, and this is my twin sister, Guts."

"We're toves," the other one piped up.

"What the heck're toves?" Casey asked.

"Slithy, of course," Guts answered, giggling.

"Who did you think makes Swiss cheese?"

Such a jump in thought confused Casey even more.

"Of course, we can only make it during brillig," Blood continued thoughtfully. "That is the only time that the portal allows us through to gimble it."

Just as Casey opened his mouth to ask what on earth they were talking about, an enormous swarm of tiny golden birds rose from behind a nearby hill and flew directly at them. Hearing the ruckus caused by the flapping of a million tiny wings as well as seeing Casey's astonished face, the two toves turned around.

"Looks like the Jubjubs are back. It's been nice talking with you!" they called as they raced away.

"BYE!" Guts yelled, right before diving under a sundial.

Casey quickly pulled down his mask, yanked out two golf clubs, and charged. "GOONGALA!!!!"

In a flash, the birds were upon him. He swung back and forth, knocking them away. But every time one was knocked down, two came to take its place. And so, Casey fought bravely as the birds swarmed around him, pricking him with their tiny, needle-like beaks. Then suddenly, there was an enormous flash, and Casey found that neither he nor the Jubjubs could move.

"ENOUGH!" a voice rumbled. A minuscule maroon man abruptly appeared on Casey's shoe.

"You! Jubjubs! Back in the tree!" The birds were instantly perched silently in the chartreuse tree.

"You! Human! Sit!" Casey was immediately sitting down; the little man still perched on the tip of his shoe.

Casey swore under his breath.

"Silence!" the miniature man yelled in a booming voice.

Casey continued to try to swear, but no sound came out.

"Yes, that's right!" the maroon man said. "You cannot speak or make any sort of noise. You have annoyed this Bandersnatch quite enough!"

"And now, you silly human," the bandersnatch continued, "you are doomed! Doomed, I tell you! Doomed to forever silence! BWAHAHAHA!!!" He laughed evilly as Casey struggled against the invisible forces that were holding him down.

"I will never give you back your voice unless you can catch me!" with that, he disappeared as suddenly as he came, leaving Casey sitting under a tree, in a far away land, and with no voice.

"Now that was rather rude of him, don't you think?" said a familiar voice, the voice of the strange green fluff-ball in the tree.

The creature hopped down. It really was a very miserable looking creature; its brightly colored feathers were all out of place and it seemed like it would fall over off of its spindle-like legs.

"You can probably get up now. His 'hold-you-in-place' spells usually don't work after he's gone."

Very stiffly, Casey pushed himself up.

"It is always so annoying when those pesky bandersnatches go and snatch your bander."

Casey's mouth moved rapidly, but no sound came out.

"I told you," the green fluff ball said. "He snatched your bander. You know, your voice? Seriously! How dense can you be?"

Casey threw his hands up in the air, completely exasperated.

"Well, there is a way to get it back, you know," the other creature popped down.

"Yes…the Jabberwocky." The creature said it in a hushed, reverent tone.

"Mm…yes…but it's dangerous. He would have to go through the Tumtum Jungle…" its voice trailed off.

The two green fluff-balls looked at each other momentarily, and then with a leap, they were both back up in the tree. Casey waved his arms after them frantically. _Wait!_ he wanted to say. _Where is all that stuff?_

"Hmm, they are so very annoying, those borogoves."

Casey spun around. There, once again, was Blood and Guts. Casey frenetically pointed at his mouth, moving it rapidly.

"Oh, you poor thing," Guts said in a babying voice. "Did that nasty-wasty bandersnatch steal your voice?"

If he could have, Casey would have been yelling some very unpleasant words. However, no sound came out as he paced back and forth under the tree, waving his hands in the air.

"Do you think he's trying to tell us something?" Blood asked.

"Oh, it certainly seems so," replied Guts.

"He needs to go to the Tumtum Jungle and find the Jabberwocky," one of the borogoves said, popping back down from the tree.

"Oh!" the toves chorused. "Why didn't you just say so?" Blood pouted.

"We did, but you just weren't here to hear it," retorted the borogove.

While the strange creatures were talking, Casey had started walking towards one of the woods that surrounded the valley he was currently in. He tripped over a low bush, making a loud crash. The toves looked down from their argument with the borogoves just in time to see Casey pick himself up and run towards the forest.

"He's going the wrong way!" exclaimed the annoyed borogove.

"We'll go get him!" Blood and Guts called back over their shoulders as they raced towards the fleeing Casey.

The moment Casey entered the woods, and he was completely surrounded in fog. He hurried on, trying to evade the very persistent toves. Gigantic, gnarly trees loomed up out of the mist. When he could no longer hear Blood and Guts voices from behind him, he sat down on a large, green rock. Then, the rock spoke.

"Getoffofme,youreallylargehumpofalump! Don'tyouknowthatsittingonpeople'sbacksisreallyunpleasantandveryimpolite?"

Casey leaped up, grabbed a golf club from his bag, spun around, and swung as hard as he could at the rock. The force of the swing cleaved the rock in two. At that moment, two faces, one on each rock, looked up at Casey and continued scolding Casey in duet.

"Imean,seriously,Ilaydownforonemoment,andyouhavetocomeandsitonme. Imean,don'tyoueverstoptothink?" the green pig-like things continued without a pause. "I'mjustanordinaryrathwhohappenstobemome,andyouhavetocomeandsitonme? Whatisthisworldcomingto?"

Their continuous scolding aggravated Casey so much that he hit them both on the head simultaneously with his club as well as with his hockey stick. Without missing a beat, the green pigs split in half. Now, there were four of the annoying creatures all talking at once! Casey ran. He was so aggravated that he even wished that he was back with the two toves. As he was thinking this, he tripped head over heals on what appeared to be a low-lying branch. However, it was Guts.

"Oh, hello, there." She looked down at him. "What are you doing up at this time of night?"

From where he was lying on his back, Casey could see the still-orange sky peeking through the tendrils of fog. _Night?_ he wondered silently. _Looks the same as it did earlier!_

As if sensing his thoughts, Guts explained. "It's always twilight here in the Forest of Fog. After you leave and get back on the wade, the stars come out."

Blood looked up sleepily from where she was lying nearby. "Oh, hello, it's you again," she said as Casey stood back up. "Did you run into any mome raths?"

"Green pigs?" Guts added.

Casey nodded vigorously.

"They are so _very_ talkative, aren't they," Blood stated with a yawn.

"Comes from eating all those coffee beans all the time," agreed Guts. The two toves nodded at each other knowingly for a moment. Then, a thought occurred to the much more awake Guts.

"You made certain not to hit them, right?"

Casey pointed to himself, then pulled out his club, mimicking himself hitting the rath.

"Ooooh, that's not good…" the two toves muttered together.

"You know what happens when you hit a rath, especially when they're mome, right?"

Casey held his hands together for a moment, and then made a movement like the splitting of the creatures.

Once again, the two toves looked at each other momentarily, and then said at the same time, "We've got to get out of here!"

From behind them, they could hear a crashing sound, growing louder and louder.

"It's the raths!" both Blood and Guts yelled hysterically. "Run!!!"

Casey spun around to face the sound; both his hockey stick and his golf club clutched tightly in his fists.

"Come on, you idiot! Do you want to be talked to death?"

Casey started running towards the jabbering raths. Blood and Guts ran after him, grabbed both of his feet, and with a mighty effort kept Casey standing upright as they ran off with him. The toves were very careful to not let Casey fall; however, they were not so careful about the tree branches that kept hitting Casey in the back of the head as they ran. They dodged around several of the tumtum trees that loomed up out of the mist. One tree all of a sudden appeared directly in front of them. At the last second, the two toves dodged around it. The raths were nearly upon them now, but they were not nearly as agile. Again and again, they ran into the trees and split into two. From his reverse vantage point, Casey noticed something very interesting. Every time the raths split, they grew a little smaller, but their continuous chatter increased in speed. After about an hour of running around in what seemed to be never-ending circles, the two toves were growing weary. There were now thousands of tiny raths following after them; the sounds of their never-ceasing chatter was deafening. One again, a large tree loomed up in front of them, but this time, each tove went around a different way, running Casey directly into the tree's large trunk. Within a second, he was surrounded by the miniscule menaces. Blood and Guts did not even realize they had lost their cargo. Casey quickly began whacking away at the raths in sheer desperation. Their voices were filling the air, making his head pound. As he hit them, they grew smaller and smaller. Finally, to Casey's complete joy, they began to grow so small that they simply disappeared. After smacking the mome raths into oblivion, Casey sat down against the tree and rested. About fifteen minutes later, Blood and Guts came back around on the circular path they had carved out.

"How did you get here?" they chorused.

"Weren't you just," Blood looked up at her back. "Oh…."

--------------------

An hour later, Casey and the two toves were back on the wade, preparing to now go into the correct jungle. From their burrow under the sundial, Blood and Guts pulled out various provisions (hole-less Swiss cheese, candy conversation hearts, cream soda, and the like) and placed them into three large bags. As they popped in and out, they were explaining things to Casey.

"The Jabberwock is the only one with a strong enough magic to get your voice back from the bandersnatch."

"However, it is really quite a dangerous fellow. He doesn't like to be disturbed."

"If you want to know what I think," Blood said as she sat down beside Casey in the tall, gently waving grass. "I think he must be immortal."

"Why do you say that?" Guts asked, once again darting up, carrying a round of cheese.

"Well, so far every time a human has popped in, they always go and cut off his head. Then, we always see him – Jabberwocky, I mean – again."

A confused look crossed Casey's face.

"Oh, yes. About every hundred years or so, a human from your world pops in under the Jubjub's tree," Blood explained. "The last one was so impressed that he wrote an entire poem about his experiences here." She and her sister stared out at the new day's sun rising slowly above the horizon and chanted softly.

_'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves_

_Did gyre and gimble in the wade;_

_All mimsy were the borogoves,_

_And the mome raths outgrabe._

_"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!_

_The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!_

_Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun_

_The frumious Bandersnatch!"_

_He took his vorpal sword in hand:_

_Long time the manxome foe he sought –_

_So rested he by the Tumtum tree,_

_And stood awhile in thought._

_And as in uffish thought he stood,_

_The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,_

_Came waffling through the tulgey wood,_

_And burbled as it came!_

_One, two! One, two! And through and through_

_The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!_

_He left it dead, and with its head_

_He went galumphing back._

_"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?_

_Come to my arms, my beamish boy!_

_O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"_

_He chortled in his joy._

_'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves_

_Did gyre and gimble in the wade;_

_All mimsy were the borogoves,_

_And the mome raths outgrabe._

"But this time, we shall go with you and see about the Jabberwocky," the two toves ended.

Guts handed one of the bags of supplies to Casey, while she and Blood picked up the other two. As the sun rose in the canary sky, they walked into the woods on the opposite side of the valley.

"Luckily, we won't have to worry about mome raths here," Blood commented to no one in particular.

The Tumtum Jungle was much different from the forest of the mome raths. There was no endless fog, and the normal sounds of a jungle filled the air. Birds screeched their strange cries as the three travelers walked under the tall, lavender trees. From far off, Casey could here a monkey chattering contently. Casey felt much calmer than he had for a very long time. For a change, he didn't feel like hitting anything, starting an argument, or even being bad-tempered. He felt calm. He and the two toves stepped out into an open sun-bathed glade that was filled with wild beauty.

_I wish April're here,_ Casey thought to himself. _She'd really like this place._

In the middle of this clearing, Blood and Guts spread out a large, green and pink polka dot sheet on the ground. Then, they pulled out a few rounds of cheese. With a quick flick of their wrists, they tossed the cheese up into the air. Their corkscrew noses jabbed the cheese several times before it landed on the sheet, covered in holes. Both Blood and Guts licked their lips appreciatively.

"There you have it," Guts exclaimed. "Swiss cheese! The rest is for you, you know. We only eat the holes, then we export it. We would let you use the portal to Switzerland, but it is only thirty centimeters wide."

Casey sat down beside them and took a chunk of the cheese as Blood poured some of the cream soda into three little paper cups. They stayed there for a while, just eating.

Suddenly, the peace was broken by a loud roaring coming from the forest.

"We're close to the Tulgey Wood," whispered Guts. "That's where the Jaberwocky prowls."

The soda in the cups started acting like a scene directly from Jurassic Park. A low rumble was heard as the ground shook with each of the Jaberwock's approaching footsteps. Then, a most monstrous beast crashed through the surrounding underbrush, directly into the glade. It was huge. Its body was covered in silvery snake-like skin; there was a ridge of sharp spikes trailing down its back. Its eyes burned like fire, the light shimmering off of its iridescent skin.

"That's the Jabberwock," Guts murmured, reverently.

--------------------

Back in New York, the lair was filled with light as Master Splinter and April returned with the Daimyo. The Daimyo stood in the center of the room for a moment, his war staff glowing red, while April searched for the missing Casey. The Daimyo sighed.

"There are two portals that opened here. One, your sons passed through. The other, a human man passed through."

"Casey," breathed April.

"Yes," the Daimyo agreed. "Now, they each went separate ways. The turtles have been pulled to Netia, on fourth-earth. Mr. Jones, however, somehow created a portal from here to second-earth. Sadly, the inter-dimensional fabric between those two dimensions and this one is thin and brittle. I can only create a portal between this dimension and one of the others without causing a rift that would tear the very foundations of time and space. As it is, my friends, this dimension is currently so unstable that it may be unwise to open yet another portal at all here for at least a day. I, myself, would be very hesitant to open one, even to the Battle Nexus."

"So, what should we do, Master Splinter?" asked April.

"We wait," Splinter replied.

"I will warn you, my old friend," said the Daimyo, "I will only be able to open one portal safely. It will be up to you for where I can send you."

"Hmm," Master Splinter muttered. "I will meditate on his matter. In the meantime, let me show you to a room where you may rest. April, my dear, you may want to stay here tonight as well."

The next morning, Master Splinter came out of his room, his mind made up. "We shall all return to the Battle Nexus, where it shall be safer to open a portal."

--------------------

Casey stood in front of the toves, wielding his hockey sticks.

"You'll need to defeat it, but not destroy it in order to convince him to use his magic to get your voice back from the bandersnatch," Blood said from behind him.

And so, Casey waited until the Jabberwock was almost on top of him, then he leapt forwards, striking with all his might. His wooden hockey sticks just splintered against the much harder armor of the Jabberwock. Next, he pulled out his favorite metal baseball bat. With a single swipe of its enormous claw, the Jabberwock batted the bat away as though it were no more than a tiny shard. Its other claw, then, latched onto Casey's leg and picked him up like a rag doll. The Jabberwock held Casey close to his face for a moment, seemed to sniff him, and then let out an enormous roar. Much to his dismay, Casey felt a very unwelcome feeling gurgling up from his stomach. _B_**U**U_U_U**R**_R**R**_R**P**P**P**_P_!

The Jabberwock staggered back, releasing its hold on Casey's leg. As Casey landed squarely on his head, the two toves watched in amazement as the Jabberwock stumbled backwards, waving its claws in front of its face. With much clanking and grinding, it stumbled around, running straight into (and splintering) many of the nearby trees. Finally, the Jabberwock collapsed in front of them.

"No, no, NO!" a voice yelled from inside the Jabberwock. "Work, already!"

Casey picked up what was left of one of his hockey sticks and climbed up onto the back of the enormous beast. To his surprise, Casey found a small trap door, cleverly embedded in the back so that you couldn't see it unless you were almost on top of it. With his stick, Casey pried the door open. Inside, a bandersnatch was frantically pulling at various levers and knobs. However, it was not the same bandersnatch that had stolen Casey's voice. This bandersnatch was bright blue. It looked up at Casey with big, puppy-dog-like eyes and sniveled,

"Please don't eat me! I'll do anything you want, just don't eat me!"

Then, Blood and Guts joined Casey on top of the Jabberwock-machine.

"Eat you!" Guts exclaimed, "Why in all of Tulgey Woods would anyone want to eat _you_?"

"Everyone always wants to eat me when I'm blue," the bandersnatch replied. "That's the only time we bandersnatches are edible. But I'll do anything for you. I'd even give you your voice back, Mr. Monkey."

"I'm _not_ a monkey!" Casey exclaimed. "Why does everybody always call me a monkey?"

Blood and Guts stared at him.

"What?" Casey asked irritably.

"Your voice is back!"

Casey suddenly realized that the two toves were right.

"GOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGGAAAAAALLLLLLLAAAAAAAAA!!!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, making the birds in the nearby trees fly up into the air. "Finally!" he exclaimed, to the shocked toves and bandersnatch. "There's been so much I've been wannin' ta say! YAHOOOOO!!!!"

Both of the toves rolled their eyes, then turned back to the frightened bandersnatch.

"Where's Fred?" Blood demanded.

"Who?" the bandersnatch replied, puzzled.

"You know," Guts answered, rolling her eyes, "the _real_ Jabberwock."

"Yeah, Casey added, turning back around. "I wanna go home, an' these two say he's the only one wid the power ta do it."

"Well, it's kind of complicated," the bandersnatch hemmed and hawed. "You see, he kept eating us, so ten or so of our top warlocks combined their powers and froze him. To my knowledge, he's still locked up in the Fortress of the Enigma."

"So why do you have a machine that looks just like him?" challenged Guts.

"Oh, I'm just a guard for the fortress grounds. We didn't know if there were any more Jabberwock that might come to visit. My name's Ennuyeux, by the way."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ennuyeux," Blood replied.

"Yeah, dude, but how'm I supposed ta get home now?"

"Well, how did you get here?" Ennuyeux asked.

Casey pulled out Donatello's gizmo and handed it to the friendly bandersnatch.

"Oh, this is easy," exclaimed Ennuyeux. "It is simply a personal matter transporter. It looks like it's broken, though."

"Yeah, that must be the reason it ain't workin'." Casey's voice was dripping in sarcasm.

The bandersnatch took no notice of him. "I could fix this," said Ennuyeux, opening up the side of the device. "Your home-world grounder's just torn. We've got a zillion of them back in the Fortress. I'll just go get one."

"Wait a sec," Casey said, suddenly suspicious. "How'd we know you'd come back, not jus' take that 'n run off?"

"Well, you could just come with me," Ennuyeux suggested.

* * *

_A/N: A major thanks to Lewis Carrol for coming up with the poem Jabberwocky_


	7. Eyeth

_A/N: Enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: This bag of peanuts may contain nuts**

* * *

Within a few super-sonic moments, Sasori's jet was within a mile of the Rebel's Headquarters. As he decelerated, Sasori spoke into the radio transmitter.

"HQ, this is Sasori-yuki requesting permission for landing."

Nothing but static came back through.

"HQ, are you there?" Sasori asked.

Again, nothing but static could be heard over the transmitter.

"Maybe there's a problem with the radio?" Yumi questioned.

Sasori shrugged, a worried look was in his eyes.

They were close enough to see the base, now. As they drew even closer, both Netians gasped in disbelief. The enormous metal doors that had once covered the hanger entrance were now barely still attached to the hinges and were riveted with blast holes. The craft glided silently inside. All of the fighting jets and passenger carriers had been completely destroyed; only rubble filled the room. Sasori gently set his craft down in an area that had the least amount of rubble. The two Netians and the turtles all hopped down to the hanger floor; that is, all except one.

Donatello looked back up at the open door and whispered up as loudly as he could, "Leo, come on!"

There was no answer.

"Go on, guys," Don said to the others. "I'll go get Leo."

With a leap, Donatello landed back in the jet as his brothers and their Netian friends walked away.

Leonardo was sitting, exactly where they had left him in the back of the aircraft, but he was obviously terrified. His knuckles were white where he was gripping the arms of his seat. His eyes stared off into space, and he was muttering over and over again, "So high…so very high…."

"Easy, bro." Donatello lightly touched Leonardo's shoulder.

Leo jumped, as though he was coming out of some sort of trance. For a moment, Donatello could still see the absolute terror in his brother's eyes, and then it faded. Concern filled Don's eyes.

"Are you OK, Leo?"

"I-I…yes, I'm fine," Leonardo lied. "I was feeling a little strange, but I'm better now."

"Well, if you say so," Donatello replied with a shrug.

He was still worried about his brother. "Come on, we need to catch up to the others."

The two turtles walked to the door of Sasori's ship. Looking down, Leo suddenly blanched and stepped back in fright.

"Leo, what's wrong?" Don turned to his brother. "It's only about ten feet. You've jumped twice that far before!"

"Don, I-I can't do it," Leo stammered.

Then it hit Don. "Yumi said that Wanui could control your deepest fears. Your fear of heights is back, isn't it?"

Numbly, Leo nodded his head. "I know I shouldn't be afraid. I know there is nothing to fear, but I cannot _not_ fear," he sighed. "I didn't want you to ever see me like this…" his voice trailed off.

"We'll work through this, Leo." Donatello walked over to his brother and took Leo's arm. "Just close your eyes before we jump. I'll be right there so you'll feel safe."

"Don, I, thanks."

"No prob, you would do the same for me any day."

With his eyes closed tightly Leonardo allowed his brother to lead him over to the door. They both jumped down and hurried to join the others.

--------------------

Meanwhile, Raphael, Michelangelo, Yumi, and Sasori continued to search throughout the Rebel base. Everywhere they went, they found only destruction. In the room where the tapestries had been, there was now only the very top of the amazing wall-hangings were left; the glass-like island that had been in the middle of the pool was broken into millions of pieces. All throughout, Sasori's eyes were glowing, and his face was growing even graver. He had not yet been able to sense the presence of a single person. They reached the dojo. Huge chunks of the ceiling had fallen down, and rubble was piled against the walls. Suddenly, Sasori leapt forwards and ran over to the edge of one of the chunks of the ceiling.

"Help me lift this up," he grunted, his muscles straining.

Raphael and Michelangelo hurriedly grabbed hold of the chunk. With their combined strength, they managed to heave the block up.

"Yumi," Sasori gasped. "Grab him!"

Yumi reached under the block and pulled out a limp form. It was Tori. He was barely alive. Once he was out from underneath, Sasori and the two turtles carefully placed the heavy block of ceiling back down. Tori's eyelids flickered open as they all knelt down by him.

"Sa-Sasori," he whispered, grabbing feebly onto Sasori's arm and lifting his head slightly.

"Rest, my friend." Sasori gently stroked Tori's trembling hand. "There is no need to speak now. Wait until you've regained your strength."

But Tori continued anyway. "They came out of nowhere. One minute there was nothing there, the next minute, they were knocking down the doors. We tried to defend ourselves, but there were too many."

He stopped for a moment, and lay back. Then he continued.

"Anything they couldn't destroy, they took. Even people. And Sasori," he continued, pulling Sasori even closer, tears were in his eyes. "Your father, he…he…."

Tori's head fell back, lifeless. Before their very eyes, his body dissolved into thousands of tiny sparkles that slowly floated up, through the gaping holes in the roof, and up to the heavens.

Sasori and the others stood and watched until the last spark disappeared. Suddenly, a dark blob appeared in the middle of the room and materialized into a tall, masked figure. The new-comer was dressed entirely in white – a long, hooded cape mostly covered a white tunic that was intricately embroidered with silver. But the strangest was the face, or lack thereof. It was as if any speck of light that fell on the face was absorbed into a dark void.

"Sasori, who's this?" Yumi whispered in Sasori's ear.

Sasori shrugged.

Then, as if he had heard Yumi's query, the faceless creature spoke. "I am known as the Magician," he said in a low, many-layered voice.

"Why are you here?" Yumi stepped forwards cautiously.

"There is someone my Master wants back," the Magician replied. "He sent me to retrieve him. Hand over the one called 'Leonardo' and I promise, I will not harm you."

Raphael drew both of his sai. "He ain't here, and even if he was, you couldn't have 'im!"

The Magician laughed. "You try to draw mere weaponry on me? It is useless. I know my quarry will be here momentarily."

Raph lunged at him. The Magician disappeared, then reappeared a few feet back. Rapidly, he raised his hand, and then clenched it into a fist. With a swift motion, he raised his hand even farther, and Yumi was lifted up off the ground; her own sword was being held to her throat.

"Drop your weapons or your friend here will loose her head!"

Sais, nunchucks, and swords were all dropped.

"Now put your hands over your heads and keep still," the Magician ordered. At that moment, to the horror of the turtles and the Rebels, Leonardo and Donatello walked into the room.

--------------------

A strange sight greeted Leonardo and Donatello as they entered the destroyed dojo. Their brothers and Sasori were standing in the middle of the room, their hands raised above their heads, surrounding a strange man-like creature, while Yumi was floating in the air, a sword held to her throat by an invisible hand. Without a moment of hesitation, both of the turtles ran towards the others. With a flying leap, Leonardo jumped straight into the Magician. At the same time, Donatello grabbed Yumi and took off running with her in his arms. He set her down near the entrance into the supply room.

"Thanks, Donatello," she gasped gratefully.

Weapons were immediately picked back up as Michelangelo, Raphael and Sasori attacked. Every time they almost hit the Magician, he vanished, only to reappear a few feet away. Suddenly, an orange, glowing orb appeared in each of his hands.

"I told you fools that my prey would come to me!"

The Magician spun around, launching one orb straight into Leonardo. Leo crumpled to the floor. The Magician launched the other orb directly at Yumi. She moved just enough so that it only hit her in the arm, but it knocked her off balance and she fell hard against Donatello.

"Mikey, grab Leo! You and Don get him and Yumi out of here!" Raph yelled.

"But what about you two?" Michelangelo yelled back.

"We'll be fine!" Sasori answered. "Go!"

Michelangelo ran over and picked Leo up in his strong arms while Donatello grabbed the semi-conscious Yumi and both turtles fled back to the hanger.

"You have robbed me of my quarry," growled the Magician. "Now you shall pay!"

Lightning bolts shot up his sleeves and up to the fragmented ceiling.

"You will not leave here alive!"

Chunks of concrete began falling all around them.

"Come on, Raphael, we've got to go!" Sasori started hurrying towards the exit.

"But we've got to keep this bozo away from the others!" Raphael shouted back.

"Yeah, but we won't be of much use to them if we're dead!" Sasori responded, starting to choke on the rising dust.

A block fell between Raph and the Magician. Raphael sheathed his sai and ran after Sasori. As the ceiling was falling down right behind them, the Rebel and turtle fled into the hanger where the others were already waiting inside of Sasori's jet. Quick as a flash, Sasori slid into the pilot's seat and they took off. A giant cloud of dust followed them as the jet shot out of the hanger. They left not a moment to soon. The former Rebel base collapsed behind them.

"What now?" asked a shaken Donatello.

"We need to find a place to recuperate." Sasori's voice was sad. "There's no one else left. No other place to hide."

"We could go to Eyeth," Yumi suggested.

She had recovered a little, but was still clutching her arm.

"But that's just a barren wasteland," Sasori protested.

"Not entirely," Yumi corrected him. "There are a few settlements scattered under the Blanket."

"The what?" Donatello cut in.

"The Blanket is a solid, translucent haze that floats about a mile off of the actual ground, so Eyeth is actually two stories tall."

Sasori groaned, adding, "The only problem is that you can't get to the lower realm by flying, only by a secret elevator somewhere on the surface. I don't even know what it looks like. I've never been there."

"But the good news is that it is protected from all of Wanui's dark forces. For some reason, he's never been able to enter lower Eyeth."

"Well, then let's get going," Raphael urged.

"Your arm's turning a funny color, Yumi," Michelangelo suddenly pointed out.

He was right. Yumi's arm was turning a deep purple.

"Must be pretty bruised," she grimaced. "I'll be OK."

Leonardo groaned and tried to sit up.

"Lay back down, bro!" Donatello gently pushed Leo back into a lying position. "Don't sit up quite yet."

The blue-masked turtle complied.

"Since it appears we don't have any other choice, I'll fly us to the Blanket of Eyeth," Sasori said.

The ship took off in an easterly direction.

--------------------

After an hour of flying, a cloud-like land mass became visible to the travelers. As they drew closer, they could see a strange, grey landscape unfold before them.

"There's the surface. I'll try to find a safe place to land," Sasori announced.

The ship slowed down as he began to look. After another fifteen minutes had passed, he was finally able to land his jet in a secluded meadow. Leonardo tried to sit up and winced.

"Not good, guys. I can't move my left leg."

The other turtles looked worriedly at each other. "We'll try to help. You think you could get around with a crutch?"

"Yeah."

Michelangelo helped Leo up and Donatello gave him his extended bo staff.

"Use this 'till we can find a good branch or something that could work better."

"'K. Thanks guys."

"No prob. That's what family's for."

Leo smiled.

--------------------

Evening found the four turtle brothers, Sasori and Yumi stopping under a large, grey oak. Like Yumi's arm, Leonardo's leg was turning a deep purple. Luckily, earlier as they had been searching for the opening into lower Eyeth, they had come across a branch that was shaped perfectly as a crutch for Leo. So now they were setting up a meager camp under the clear, Netian sky. Suddenly, Michelangelo's stomach growled.

"Man!" he moaned. "I'm hungry!"

"We're all hungry, shell-for-brains," Raphael reminded him.

"Uh. What I wouldn't give for a nice, big, pepperoni pizza right now!"

"What I wouldn't give for some duct-tape…" Raph muttered under his breath.

Donatello smiled and turned to Yumi. "When will Sasori get back?"

"He'll be back in a few moments," she replied. "He found some food."

"Oh goodie!" exclaimed Michelangelo.

He was trying – unsuccessfully – to start a fire with some old wood and two stones. Just then, Sasori returned, his arms laden with plants.

"Looks like we're having some stew for dinner," he announced as he walked over to Mikey.

"Leaf stew?" the disappointed orange turtle complained.

"It's an old family recipe. 'Wood Soup.' My father taught it to me cycles ago when he would take me camping. Trust me, you'll like it."

As Sasori turned away and began cleaning the plants in a little nearby culvert, Mikey muttered something under his breath. He was still unable to get the strange grey wood to light.

"Here, give me that!"

Raphael grabbed the two stones from Mikey and started pounding them together. He couldn't get a spark either.

Frustrated, he threw the stones down. However, with the throw, a little ball of energy appeared at his fingertips and floated down onto the dry branches, instantly igniting them. Michelangelo's jaw dropped.

"How'd you do that, Raph?"

Raphael stared at his three fingers, then down at the little blaze.

"I have no idea, Mikey. I have no idea."

By this time, the others had noticed what had happened.

"Come over here," Yumi instructed. "I can't read your mind from this distance when I'm injured, but we'll see what happened."

Raphael knelt down next to where she was sitting. Gently, Yumi placed her good hand on top of his head as her eyes began to glow.

"Amazing," she muttered. "I've never known something like this to happen before…."

"What? What?" urged Raphael.

"You are beginning to develop a Netian-like power," Yumi replied.

"But how is that possible?" Sasori wondered.

Yumi shrugged. "It seems that his mind is perfectly mutated so that he can absorb the influence of the powers, letting him then duplicate one of them and replicate it."

"Does that mean I can do it again?" Raphael stared at his fingertips.

Yumi nodded. "Try it, but balance it on your fingers so you don't ignite anything."

With everyone watching, Raphael concentrated hard. Nothing happened. He tried again; still nothing. By now, he was completely frustrated.

"I can't do it! Stop watching me!"

He sat down in a huff. At that moment, a ball of energy appeared in his hand, surprising him.

"Fascinating…" Yumi stared at him. "Apparently, you can only do that when you are extremely frustrated or annoyed."

"Well, then you should be able to do it all the time, Raphie-boy," Michelangelo teased.

"Don't make me use this on your head, dip-stick," the red turtle retorted.

However, the glowing orb was already fading.

"Why'd Raph get the cool super power?" Michelangelo moaned. "I'm the one who's always wanted to be a super-hero!"

"Does this mean we all have such a capacity, or just Raph's hot headed mind?" asked Donatello, ignoring his brother's outburst.

"I don't know." Yumi shrugged again, then flinched and rubbed her arm. "I won't be able to tell until one is developed."

Leonardo was lying against the grey oak watching and listening. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Is that what happened back in Wanui's dungeon?"

"Hold on," Yumi replied.

After about a minute, she answered, "It could be. There is a slight trace of residual Netian energy floating around, but I've never seen anyone do what you did."

"Could you pleeeeaaaaasssssseeeeee read my mind, too, Yumi?" Michelangelo begged.

"I told you, I won't be able to tell unless it's already developed," Yumi reminded him.

"Pleeeeaaaaasssssseeeeee?" He did his best imitation of big puppy eyes.

"You'd better do it, Yumi, or he won't ever leave you alone," Leonardo commented. "Last time Don wouldn't pay attention to him, he followed him around all day bugging him."

Yumi giggled.

"Ok, ok, just hold still."

Her eyes glowed once more.

"Nope, nothing," she told the dismayed ninja turtle. "No residual energy, no power signature, nothing."

Michelangelo was very disappointed, to say the least, and plopped down next to Leonardo and moped.

Ignoring Michelangelo, Donatello asked, "So exactly what are these powers?"

"The story goes," Sasori began, "that many thousands of years ago, once the Creator had made all of the dimensions, before evil had entered any of the worlds, He decided granted a gift of immense power to the first man and woman of each world to set them apart from all others."

"It seems that each world was given a unique gift," Yumi interrupted. "For example, the first of your world were allowed to commune with the Creator Himself."

"Yes, anyway," Sasori continued, "After evil entered the world, the Creator did not take away the powers of the first Netians, but diminished them. Each subsequent generation has still controlled that diminished power, but cannot control it as well. Now, each person can only use one aspect of it. However, it was promised that in the end of days, He will restore every Netian who serves Him and peace will reign like heaven forevermore."

"That sounds a lot like the claims of Christianity on our world," Donatello commented, sounding rather disappointed.

"You could say that," Yumi answered. "After all, it worships the same Creator that we serve."

"Well, how about we just agree to disagree about that sort of thing and drop it," Donatello insisted uncomfortably.

"All right," Sasori shrugged. "We can't force our beliefs on anyone."

A little later, Sasori had finished the Wood Soup, and even Michelangelo had to admit that it was good. Then, they went to sleep. Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Yumi rested against the trunk of the oak while Sasori, Donatello, and Raphael preferred to make their beds among the soft, silvery leaves covering the floor of upper Eyeth.

--------------------

As the pale sun rose the next morning, it shone right onto Donatello's eyes, waking him. He stood up and stretched. The upper level of Eyeth didn't seem so gloomy in the fresh morning, although it was certainly very noisy due to Raphael's unceasing snoring. Suddenly, the purple-masked turtle panicked. Yumi and his two brothers were gone!

"Wake up! Wake up!" Donatello shook Raphael and Sasori.

"What, Don?" Raphael growled, sleepily opening one eye.

"They're gone!"

"W-what? Who's gone?" Sasori rubbed his eyes.

All Donatello could do was point at the grey oak that Yumi, Michelangelo, and Leonardo had been leaning on. Raphael jumped up and ran over to where the others had been, closely followed by Sasori, his eyes glowing brightly.

"Nothing," he announced dejectedly.

"Look," exclaimed Donatello, pulling a square of orange fabric from a crack in the tree. "This is from Mikey's mask, and it's a clean cut, like it was cut by a sword."

Raphael peered closely at the spot that the piece had been sticking out of.

"Sasori, do trees here usually have metal in 'em?"

"No, Raphael, why do you ask?"

Raphael whipped out his sai and cut a chunk of bark off of the tree, revealing part of a metal door.

"I think we found the secret elevator," Don said.

Suddenly, a sharp twang was heard from a neighboring tree. Hastily, Raphael stepped backwards and an arrow planted itself where he had been standing a moment before.

"Move!" Sasori yelled, pushing Donatello down.

Another arrow was embedded in the tree, inches above his head. Vaguely, the turtle brothers could see a monkey-like creature bouncing from limb to limb in the tree, carrying a bow and quiver.

"Hurry!" Sasori hissed. "Into the elevator!"

"How?" Donatello asked. "It's sealed shut!"

"What about the others?" Raph reminded them. "They must have accidentally fallen into the elevator at some point last night. Just open the doors somehow!"

With a flash, Raphael blasted a hole in the door. Luckily, the car was at the top. Hurriedly, they pried the door opened and slid inside. Sasori hit the down button and the doors closed. The monkey released one last shot, flying through the hole Raphael had created. It hit him smack in the left shoulder and he fell backwards as the elevator shot downwards.

Donatello caught his injured brother as he fell. Grimacing, Raphael pulled the arrow out of his shoulder.

"I hate monkeys!"

"Are you OK, Raph?"

Raphael gave Donatello a withering look. "What does it look like?"

Blood was beginning to flow quickly out.

"We need to stop that bleeding, or you won't be alive much longer!"

Sasori's face was creased with worry.

"I won't let that happen!" Donatello was determined.

Quickly, he pulled off one of his elbow pads and used it to try to stop the bleeding. However, Raphael was already starting to loose consciousness due to blood loss. As his eyes closed, he could dimly see the worried face of his brother.

"I won't let you go, bro!"

"I know," Raphael tried to smile. "Tell Mikey he's still a goof ball."

Raphael passed out.

--------------------

Meanwhile, Michelangelo was just starting to wake up, and his head hurt. Gently, he rubbed the tender spot on the back of his head and opened his eyes.

"Oh, shell!"

The sight that greeted him was not a pleasant one.

Leonardo and Yumi were sitting with their arms wrapped around their knees, surrounded by spear-wielding baboons.

"Good, you're finally awake, kame."

Another baboon prodded Michelangelo with the butt of his spear, forcing him to sit up. A large mandrill, who was apparently the leader, swaggered over and placed his brightly colored face within a few inches of Mikey's. With an evil grin which showed his long, sharp, and dangerous canines, the mandrill announced to his followers, "Looks like we made a fine catch with this one, boys. This one's strong like the other one, but not injured. Better be careful. He might try to fight just like the other kame did."

"You bet I will!"

Michelangelo sprang up and kicked the mandrill squarely in the chest, sending him flying a couple of feet backwards. Immediately, several spear points were at his neck.

"See?" The mandrill stood up, laughing, while gently rubbing the sore spot on his chest. "A strong feisty one! He'll fetch a fine price on the black market!"

All three of the captives started.

"Oh, I think I forgot to mention that all three of you are slaves now, and you all belong to me! Me, Celorthod the Bad, and my band of the best and most ruthless slave and bounty hunters this side of the Sea of Tears!"

"Why you evil, UGH!"

The blunt end of a spear hit Leonardo's head, knocking him over.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Michelangelo yelled.

The spear points were now all touching his neck. Ignoring the outbursts, Celorthod ordered the prisoners bound. Wordlessly, the baboons hoisted Leonardo and Yumi to their feet, while pinning Michelangelo's hands behind his shell with a thick rope. Yumi winced as the baboons roughly pulled her injured arm behind her back.

"Don't you worry, my pretty." Celorthod put his hand under her chin and lifted it so that her eyes met his. "You will go to a good home, and will probably fetch us the best price."

Furious, Yumi jerked her head down, biting the mandrill's long fingers.

"OW! OW! OW! OW!"

Celorthod yanked his hand back and massaged his fingers. Soft, muffled laughter spread throughout the baboons. One of the guards supporting Leonardo let go of Leo's arm and clamped his hands over his mouth to prevent his laughter from reaching his leaders ears. Immediately, Leonardo fell down on the ground and swung around his uninjured leg, tripping the other guard and Celorthod. The rest of the monkeys could no longer hold the laughter in. This provided just the distraction Michelangelo was looking for. Since the guards were no longer paying attention to him, he dropped down under the canopy of spears and crawled on his knees, his hands still bound, into the underbrush. Lividly, Celorthod leapt to his feet and grabbed the neck of the guard that had let go of the blue-clad turtle.

Instantly, the laughter stopped.

"YOU IDIOT!" Celorthod screamed, shaking the unfortunate baboon. "I ASKED YOU TO DO _ONE_ THING, ONE SIMPLE THING, AND YOU CAN'T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT!"

Celorthod flung the guard up, smack into a branch of an overhanging tree. There was a sickening thud as the guard's body met with the hard wood. Celorthod spun around.

"ANYONE ELSE WANT TO LAUGH AT ME?"

Every creature was silent.

"Good! Let's move out!"

"Um, sir?" one of the baboons who had been guarding Mikey ventured nervously.

"What now?" the mandrill snapped, massaging his temples.

"The other kame is, well, um…sir, he's gone!"

"WHAT?"

"When you were throwing Moz up into that tree – and by the way, nice throw sir – he kinda…um…vanished."

Celorthod was even more upset now.

"HOW COULD HE JUST VANISH? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING HIM, YOU HALF-WITS!"

"He's a ninja," Leonardo piped up.

Celorthod strode over to him. "Go on," he said, eyes narrow, "I'm listening."

"Well, people who are ninjas are able to completely disappear right in front of your eyes," Leo bluffed. "Usually after he does, no one can find him until either he or his family _wants_ him to be found."

He said this loud enough that he hoped Mikey could hear and understand his message. The mandrill's eyes narrowed even further.

"So what you're saying is that I shouldn't bother even looking for him?"

"Oh no, of course not. That's not my call. I just know him well enough to know that neither you nor I could find him." He shrugged. "But of course, that decision is up to you. I don't think his escape is necessarily bad for you. He would certainly cause a lot of mischief in the camp."

Celorthod rubbed his index finger along the bridge of his colorful nose. After about a minute of silence, he made his decision.

"Cosmi, you and Ankard go and look for that kame. He can't have gotten far. Everyone else, make camp. We'll stay here until morning, in which case, you had better have found him by then."

Two baboons hurried off into the underbrush.

High up in the tree with the baboon's corpse, Michelangelo smiled. He had heard Leo's message loud and clear. And he was determined that he would not be caught.

--------------------

Back up in the elevator, Donatello and Sasori were desperately trying to revive Raphael and stop his shoulder from bleeding. But nothing they tried was working. Finally, the elevator reached lower Eyeth. Very gently, they lifted Raphael out onto the forest floor.

"I don't know what else we can do for him Donatello," Sasori shook his head. "I'm so sorry…" his voice trailed sadly off.

"No! He can't! He just can't!" Donatello insisted, tears welling up in his eyes. "He'll be OK! I know he will!"

He held Raphael's limp form close to his plastron. Sasori remained respectfully silent as the purple-clad turtle rocked back and forth.

"You'll be all right, Raphie Boy! Please!" he begged. "Be all right!"

Then suddenly, something miraculous happened. A soft glow surrounded them both; a stronger glow around Donatello and a weaker glow around Raphael. To Sasori's astonishment, part of the glow, the aura surrounding Donatello, began to spiral around. Wisps caressed Raphael's wound, healing it. More wisps began entering Raphael's body, evening out the strength of the two auras. Exhausted, Donatello collapsed.

_--------------------_

_Don! Don! Wake up bro!_

Slowly, the turtle opened his eyes.

"Raph! You're OK!"

"Yeah, thanks to you, braniac," Raphael replied.

Both turtles smiled.

Walking over, Sasori announced, "While you were out, Donatello, I found several sets of tracks leading away from the elevator. They're all going the same way, so with any luck, that's where we should find the others."

Together, Sasori, Raphael, and Donatello followed the tracks through the surrounding forest. Content to let Sasori lead, the two turtles glanced around at the forest made up of blue trees and often up to the pale lavender sky. This landscape was so like a typical Earth forest; but at the same time, unlike anything they had ever seen in all of their travels. Suddenly, Sasori stopped and held up his hand.

"Hide! Quickly!"

In an instant, they were all hidden among the colorful foliage. A moment later, two baboons walked by on the makeshift path.

"Do you really think we'll find that kame, Ankard?" one was asking.

The other one shrugged.

"I doubt it, Cosmi."

He stopped, pulled the pack of off his back, and started rummaging in it.

"I told Celorthod that I thought it was a bad idea to go to the upper lands. When those two kame and the up-worlder fell into the elevator and we knocked them out, well," the baboon shook his head. "Those types are nothing but trouble."

Donatello and Raphael glanced at each other. They both a pretty good idea about who the two kame and the up-worlder were. Before Donatello or Sasori could stop him, Raphael silently shimmied up one of the dark blue trees and out onto a limb hanging directly over the two baboons.

"Raph! Get back here!" Donatello hissed.

The baboon addressed as Cosmi looked around quickly. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Ankard replied, pulling out a fruit from his pack.

"I dunno…." Cosmi sighed. "I'm just jittery, I guess. You know what the boss will do to us if we don't find that escapee."

"Yeah," was the brief reply.

Silently, the red-clad turtle dropped down behind them and tapped them both on the shoulder. As they spun around, Raph growled, "Still looking for a turtle? There's more turtle than you can handle right here."

Before the two baboons could recover from their initial shock, Raphael knocked their two heads together and they fell unconscious on the forest floor.

"Raph, that was a very foolhardy and dangerous thing to do," Donatello scolded.

"In other words," Raph smirked, "just my style."

Leaving the two baboons tied up on the ground, they once again started out on the trail of footprints.

"It looks like we have a pretty good idea about what happened to them," Sasori muttered darkly.

--------------------

Leonardo and Yumi were tightly secured to a large, blue, sycamore-type tree. There were plenty of guards stationed around them as the rest of the band of baboon slave-traders did various things around their camp. None of the guards really seemed to be paying attention to their two captives other than making sure that they did not escape, so Yumi and Leo talked to pass the time. Leonardo was full of questions, especially about Netia and Wanui. Yumi told him basically the same story that his brothers had heard from both her and Hatsu-yuki, Sasori's father. When she was finished, the turtle still had two more questions.

"My sensei, Master Splinter, what happened to him?"

"I don't know what to tell you," Yumi replied, shaking her head. "In the _maboroshi_, only you four turtles were mentioned. Also, there wasn't anything about him in Wanui's database when we infiltrated his stronghold to rescue you. I don't want to promise anything, but I'm guessing that he escaped."

The turtle sighed, only a little relieved.

"You said this is fourth earth?"

Yumi confirmed with a nod of her head.

"Then I was wondering," Leonardo said. "I have a good friend, Usagi Yojimbo, who lives on fourth earth. He's a samurai rabbit. Have you ever met him?"

Yumi thought for a moment before replying. "He probably lives on Netia's twin planet, Nippon. It is also considered fourth earth. That is the only place I can think of that still has samurai. Although their planet is as old as ours, and together we circle around each other as we circle around our sun, their technology is almost a thousand cycles behind ours. Most of them do not even know that we exist on their sister planet."

Leonardo was silent for a moment as he took in that information. During the lull, an old baboon walked past the guards and up to them. He had countless, tiny gourds tied to a large, red sash around his waist as well as to the top of his long walking stick. They clanked together musically as he walked.

"I'm the healer of this troop," he announced gruffly. "Stick out your leg, kame. Celorthod has given orders that it's to be bound so that you can walk on your own." The old baboon spat on the ground and added under his breath, "Though that seems a unwise decision to me. Celorthod's a fool."

He knelt down and examined Leonardo's leg momentarily. Then, muttering something about dark magic, he stormed off towards the forest. A moment later, he was back, clutching two foot-long pieces of bark.

"This is bark from the deglupta tree. It will both heal and support your leg."

The old healer tied it onto either side of Leo's leg with a long strip of white cloth and then stood up.

"We'll find out how well it works on the road tomorrow."

He gave the two captives an evil grin then spun around and left.

The turtle glanced briefly at Yumi and was surprised to see her smiling sadly.

"You can be glad he's not the leader of this pack," she whispered to him. "He was thinking that he would much rather leave you here to perish instead of invoking the wrath of the powerful kame clan."

"The powerful kame clan?" Leonardo repeated, curious.

Yumi just shrugged. "Apparently there are other turtles here, but I've never heard of them before. I guess that monkey has, though."

--------------------

Donatello, Raphael, and Sasori were quietly sneaking up to the slave-trader's encampment. Almost right on top of it, they crouched in the bushes to take in the situation. They could see about seventy baboons and a large mandrill. They could also see Leonardo and Yumi tied to a tree in the very middle of the camp and very heavily guarded. However, they could not see Michelangelo anywhere. Suddenly, to the horror of the three hiding in the bush, someone started to quietly climb in with them. As the unknown being crept closer, Donatello and Sasori held their breath and Raphael put his hand on the hilt of his sai. Then, to their joy, a familiar green and orange face popped through the thick foliage. Mikey quickly motioned with his head for the others to follow him. His hands were bound. As soon as they were out of earshot, Raphael grabbed Mikey and gave him a big noogie.

"Hey! Hey!" Michelangelo exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"Just glad to see you, goof-ball."

"Good to see you too, but could you guys untie me? My nose's been itching for hours!"

Raphael's sai cut through the rope in a matter of moments. Quickly, Michelangelo recounted how he had escaped and everything he had learned since then, then Raphael told his brother all that had happened to them – but left out the part about the arrow in his shoulder.

"Hmm, there's too many for a frontal attack," Sasori mused. "But at the same time, Yumi and Leonardo are too heavily guarded and too in the middle to be able to just sneak them out. We'll need a distraction. A really big distraction."

Donatello and Raphael both turned to their grinning brother.

"I thought you'd never ask."

To everyone's surprise, he outlined a well thought through plan.

"Wow, Mikey, where'd all that come from?" Donatello asked, amazed.

Mikey smirked. "How easy do you think it is to pull the same trick on Raph five different times without him expecting it or getting caught?" he retorted.

Raphael just scowled.

Even though it was difficult, they had to wait until darkness had fallen, since Mikey's plan would only work under the cover of night. Meanwhile, they did their best to keep busy. Sasori gave Donatello a small pouch about the size of a CD that could expand to four times its original size. Donatello immediately put it to good use. He had discovered that many of the trees seemed to be a sub-species of eucalyptus. Knowing that the bark of earth eucalyptus catches on fire very easily and sometimes even explodes, the purple-clad turtle filled the satchel with the bluish bark. Sasori, Michelangelo, and Raphael were rummaging for food, each with their own little pouch. They found nuts on some of the trees that closely resembled pecans as well as many bushes strewn with berries. After they had all had their fill (though Sasori had to help the turtles get the nuts out of the shells), they filled up the rest of the satchels and decided to rest until evening while taking turns at watch.

--------------------

Darkness fell over the camp, and Celorthod was pacing back and forth in front of the captives. He was growing concerned at the complete disappearance of both of his trackers.

"We'll give them until morning," he said, more to himself than to anyone else. "If they don't show their faces by then, then they had better never let me see their stinking selves again!"

The rest of the slave traders had lit cooking fires and were beginning to settle down for the night. It was completely dark now, except for the fires. Not a single star was able to shine through the thick layer of Upper Eyeth. Suddenly, the fires all flared up to enormous heights, and then died down to glowing embers. The bright flash momentarily blinded everyone in the camp. As the baboons were rubbing the stars from their eyes, Celorthod stared at the lower branches of one of the trees, his mouth hanging open. Mutely, he lifted a trembling finger at the horror he saw. Floating just below the lowest branches of the tree was the corpse of the baboon he had thrown up to its death earlier. Leonardo, due to his ninja training, was very used to going from bright to dark immediately. He was the only one who could see the thin ropes attached to the body. By now, all of the baboons were completely terrified and were no longer paying any heed to their two prisoners. Then, to further the slave-traders' terror, a two-toned voice spoke – seemingly from the corpse.

"You are doomed, evil one," the voices said in unison as the arm of the corpse rose to point at Celorthod. To the troop of monkeys, it sounded like a demon; however, it made hope rise in the hearts of Leonardo and Yumi. They both recognized it as Michelangelo and Donatello speaking at the same time.

"Psst!" a whisper came from behind the captives.

"Stay still!" Sasori hissed.

The two captives could feel the ropes around them loosen. Quickly and quietly, they followed Sasori out of the camp. Luckily, the old healer's medicine seemed to be working on Leo's leg. He could walk on it, though it was still very stiff. After a few minutes, they joined Raphael in a glade. He was surrounded by unconscious baboons. In answer to Leonardo's questioning look, Raphael shrugged.

"I needed to blow off some steam."

Behind them, they could faintly hear Donatello and Michelangelo making random threats against Celorthod's eternal soul. All of a sudden, a gasp rose up from the slave-traders. A few moments later, the two turtles who had been providing the distraction came running to them.

"We've got to vanish, guys!" Michelangelo huffed. "The ropes broke and the body fell into the fire under it. I don't know how much longer the ruse will work!"

As if to reconfirm Michelangelo's words, shouts were rising from the slave traders' camp. They turned and ran. Though it was difficult to see, they ran through the shrubbery with little hindrance. Behind them they could hear the band of baboons crashing after them. Suddenly, Sasori, who was in the lead, stopped, but the others didn't see him. One after another, they crashed into each other, and the reason for Sasori stopping became painfully obvious. Down the incline of the cliff they fell until _SPLASH!_ They landed in the swiftly flowing river below. Over the roar of the water, they could hear the anguished cries of the slave traders robbed of their prey but reluctant to follow them into the raging waters. There was no way for the Netians or the turtles to keep track of each other as they each tried to swim to the shore. It was now every person/turtle for him or herself. Leonardo smashed up against a rock. It knocked the wind out of him, but he managed to hold on to it and pull himself partially out of the water. Almost immediately, there was a sharp tugging on his good leg. Leo pulled back, bringing Donatello up next to him on the rock. Looking around, they could see Raphael create another glowing orb as he washed up on the shore nearby.

"Don! Leo! Over here!" he yelled, waving.

The two turtles stranded on the rock edged around to the side closer to the shore.

"We're going to let go and try to swim to the shore," Leonardo called back. "Do you think you can keep the light on long enough for us to get there?"

"No prob," Raphael bellowed. "I'm annoyed enough to keep this up for hours."

Leonardo repelled himself from the rock towards the shore. Donatello followed closely behind. With powerful strokes, they fought against the current as they tried to reach the shore. Raphael did his best to stay close to them as he ran along the shore to give them light as they drifted downstream. Finally, wet and exhausted, Donatello and Leonardo made it to the shore.

--------------------

Michelangelo was relieved as he felt his feet hit smooth pebbles along the shore of the river. Exhausted from fighting the current, he had finally decided to conserve his energy and just concentrate on keeping afloat. Luckily, he had washed ashore. He was freezing from his long exposure to the ice cold water. It had sapped all of his cold-blooded energy. Now, it was all that he could do to pull himself up among the protective ground cover. He curled up in a ball and was soon fast asleep. He slept so hard that he did not even hear his brothers calling his name as they searched for him and the two Netians farther upstream. But what he did hear was a melodious voice speaking to him in his dreams. Dimly, he could see a beautiful woman dressed entirely in white standing under pale blue, glowing mushrooms. They towered over her like skyscrapers.

"Do not let your brothers come here," she chimed softly. "Remember, this place is doomed. Do not add your doom to its own. Now go, wake. They are searching for you."

Michelangelo slowly opened his eyes and remembered nothing from his dream. The sun was starting to faintly glow through Upper Eyeth, turning the sky a multitude of pinks and oranges. He sighed happily, as he could feel the warmth coursing through his body. Suddenly, a tiny, furry face was inches from his own face. Mikey and the creature screamed in surprise; the orange-clad turtle leaped up, spinning around to face his tiny, furry foe. There was nothing and no one there. All of a sudden, Michelangelo could feel a small, sharp rapping on his shell like someone was hitting it with a twig. He turned his head as far as he could, but he couldn't see anything. He turned the other way. All he could see was what looked like a big, bushy tail.

"Hey!" Mikey yelled. "Get off of me!"

The squirrel spun around with its twig and began hitting Michelangelo's head.

"OWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!"

The turtle tried to grab the squirrel, but it began scampering all around on him, managing to always stay just out of reach. Alerted by his shrieks, Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael came running towards him. Finally stepping through the bushes, all three turtles burst out laughing at the sight of Mikey and the squirrel.

"Get it off of me! It tickles!" the distraught turtle yelled.

"OK, OK, just hold still a moment, Mike," Leonardo replied, trying hard to calm his laughter.

The squirrel stopped in the middle of Michelangelo's shell for a moment, seeming to study the approaching turtle. Suddenly, it started chattering quickly.

"Wait!" Donatello cried as Leonardo made ready to make a grab at the squirrel. "I have an idea!"

"Spill it quick, Don," Leonardo replied, watching tensely as the squirrel continued to chatter at him.

"Well, I might be able to communicate with it and ask it to get off of Mikey."

The other three turtles exchanged amused glances.

"You want to talk to a _squirrel_?" Raphael asked incredulously.

"Just give me a chance," the purple-clad turtle pleaded.

"OK, Donnie," Leonardo sighed. "Give it a shot."

Donatello thought for a moment, then said slowly, "Mērgīn…quībn…dä."

The squirrel jerked its head up sharply and looked at him, then leaped off of Michelangelo's shell and ran over to Donatello. It then began chattering even more excitedly.

"Quō, mērgīn quō!" Donatello insisted as panic filled his eyes. "Kōtōng rō nōnōnōn līmāpōrōith gētōng. Bā gē rō!"

The squirrel made sympathetic noises.

"Rōithix kēkē Don. Däx kēkē Leo, Raph, ā Mikey."

Each of the turtles waved when they heard their name. The squirrel burst out laughing when it heard Michelangelo's name.

"Gē kēkē Mīkē! Āväth rō dä dēng-ā-lēng, pēbā hrma rō dä bālēng līgäīvith. Ta mērkēkē lēgēn!" it chattered, then bowed. "Rōithix kēkē Twigl."

Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo all turned to Donatello for a translation.

"As close as I can make out," Donatello said, "he said that his name is Twigl."

Then, Don grinned.

"He also said that Mikey's name is perfect for him because he appears to be a "dēng-ā-lēng" – meaning hard and brave – but he's really a big softy." The smirk spread even farther across his face. "The word "Mīkē" means something like goofball in squirrel."

"Yup, very fitting," Raphael agreed, a twinkle in his eye.

Michelangelo gulped; he knew that look. It could only mean one thing. Payback.

Leonardo stepped in between Raphael and Michelangelo to forestall any mischief.

"Don, do you think you could ask Twigl if he knows where Yumi and Sasori are?"

"I'll try," Donatello grimaced.

He and the squirrel had a brief conversation accompanied by many hand gestures. Finally, Twigl ran lightly up a nearby tree.

"There's just one thing I don't understand, Donnie," started Michelangelo.

"Only one thing?" Raphael interrupted. "I would have thought there'd be a lot more than just one thing that you didn't understand."

Mikey stuck his tongue out at him. Leonardo gave them both a warning look.

"Go ahead, Mikey. Ask your question."

His youngest brother smiled gratefully at him. "How the shell do you know how to speak squirrel, Donnie?"

"I found a book called The Language of the Squirrel in a dumpster once," the purple-clad turtle shrugged.

"And let me guess, you were bored one night so you taught yourself Squirrel," Raphael said sarcastically.

"Yep."

Donatello was dead-serious. Just then, Twigl came back down the tree. Again, the turtle and the squirrel spoke together in the strange tongue.

Turning back to his brothers, Donatello exclaimed excitedly, "He found them! They're on the other side of the river and a bit downstream, but not really far from here. He said he'd take us to them."

"Well, then let's get going," Leonardo encouraged them. "Lead on!"

Donatello translated this into squirrel and Twigl chattered happily. He then bounded back over to Michelangelo and scampered up to the very top of the turtle's head.

"Hey!"

"He likes your head, Mikey," Donatello explained.

Twigl chattered some more.

"He also says that he's decided that we are going to be his new brothers because he always wanted a brother, and he's sorry for falling out of a tree on top of you and waking you up."

"Um, OK, but can you ask him to get off of my head?"

But by now, Twigl had become rather dizzy with how much Michelangelo moved his head, decided that he didn't want to sit there anyway, and hopped down to the turtle's shoulder.

"AARRGH! I give up!" the orange-clad turtle groaned half-heartedly.

In truth, he was enjoying all of the attention. Twigl raised a paw and pointed towards the river.

"Come on, goofball," Raphael clapped Michelangelo on the back. Together they headed towards the river. As they passed through the underbrush, the four turtles saw Yumi and Sasori walking up the banks of the other side of the river.

"ARE YOU GUYS OK?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Sasori called back. "How about you?"

"We're fine," Leonardo answered. "Do you think we should try to get across to you?"

Both of the Netians shook their heads. "We're on the same side as the slave-traders. It would be better for us to come across to you."

"Rō lēkēāväth nolēpā. Jāng gēgē."

"Twigl knows of a bridge. He'd be glad to take us there." Donatello translated.

"That sounds much better than trying to swim across this again." Yumi made a wry face. "I like water as much as any other Netian, but enough is enough!"

Twigl leaped off of Michelangelo and scampered downstream a bit. He motioned with his forepaw for them to follow him.

They followed the squirrel down the river. As they walked, the terrain on each side began to change dramatically. No longer was Lower Eyeth a deciduous, almost tropical, forest, but was turning into a vast flatland. However, the river had long ago carved its path into a deep crevice. Steep cliffs made up of rosy sandstone rose up on either side. Every now and then, veins of quartz could be seen in the walls as they glinted and shone in the diffused sunlight.

"Are we there yet?" Michelangelo moaned.

Donatello translated this into squirrel.

"Fēnōn," Twigl replied, shading his eyes with his paw.

"He says that there's only a short distance left," the purple-clad turtle translated.

"Good, 'cause my feet hurt," Michelangelo moaned.

"We've only been walking for about forty-five minutes," Raphael reminded him. "Leo takes us out on longer training runs than that!"

Just then, the river went around a sharp bend and the top of the canyon grew almost completely together so that it was almost like a cave. However, instead of being dark, the cave was filled with a soft, blue light beckoning to them.

"Lī jōng."

"It's in there."

Twigl scampered up Donatello's leg and whispered something into his ear.

"Bā, rō āvä. Jōng gēn," the turtle said, nodding in agreement.

Twigl bounded down and sat down on a nearby outcropping rock.

"Twigl's going to stay out here," announced Donatello. "He really doesn't like going underground, though he does every time he has to get across the river. It's just not in his nature and he knows we'll be right back. He said it's just a little ways in."

"That's fine, Twigl," Leonardo smiled encouragingly. "We understand."

Although the squirrel could not understand him, he knew that Leonardo was trying to be nice, so he smiled.

"Just out of curiosity," Raphael interjected, looking up at the narrow gap in the roof of the cave, "why couldn't we have just gone over that way?"

Donatello deciphered both this and Twigl's answer.

"He said that the flatlands are patrolled by the fierce firebirds – something like the phoenixes of ancient legend. I guess they're really territorial about what walks around up there and usually won't even let a squirrel through."

"Well, are we going in, or what?" Sasori called across the swiftly rushing water.

"Come on, guys. Let's go find that bridge." Leonardo walked forwards into the mouth of the cave.

They did not have to travel far into the cave to locate the source of the light. Enormous pale mushrooms grew up from the floor, almost touching the ceiling. They gave off a soft, blue light. One of the giants had fallen over and lay across the river, creating a bridge. Michelangelo gasped, and shrank back. The other turtles looked at him.

"What's wrong, Mikey?" Donatello asked.

"I-I dunno. I've just got this feeling that we really shouldn't be here."

Raphael glared at him. "You turnin' chicken on us, bro?"

"No, it's just that I'm getting some really bad vibes. I'm telling you –"

"If you don't want to go in, just say so, Mike." Leonardo laid a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "It's not like we all need to go in, or anything. You could stay outside with Twigl if you want."

The orange-clad turtle gulped nervously and manage a little smile.

"I'll be fine. Really."

Leonardo shrugged, giving his brother a slightly confused look. Yumi and Sasori were already on their way across the fallen mushroom's stipe, so the four turtle brothers walked down to the end of the bridge to greet them. Although they had been unable to see it from the cavern's entrance, the massive mushrooms were growing in a perfect circle, placed evenly apart. The one that now bridged the river would have been in the circle's exact center. The turtles arrived at the fallen fungus and Leonardo reached his hand up to help Yumi down. Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground, holding his head and screaming in agony.

"Leo! Leo, what's wrong?"

His brothers crowded around him. Yumi jumped down from the end of the mushroom as Sasori came running across after her.

"Stand back, hold on!" she ordered, placing her hands on top of the distraught turtle's head.

A white, electrical-like energy came up from Leonardo's skull and pulsed up through her hands. With a yell of both surprise and pain, Yumi fell backwards.

"His mind is not his own," she cried. "I don't know what to do!"

It was not until too late that anyone noticed the fluffy spore pods that were drifting down around them. As they hit the ground, a sickly sweet aroma filled the room.

Leonardo was no longer screaming and lay on the cavern color, unconscious. The Sasori and the other turtles were also feeling the effects of the aroma. One by one, they blacked out.

As his eyelids began to close heavily, Michelangelo could faintly hear the panicked chattering of a squirrel coming closer and Yumi's worried voice calling his name. Then, he hit the floor and remembered no more.


	8. In the Fortress of Enigmas

_A/N: Moogs, I am SO SORRY! I know I told you that this next chapter would be one you haven't read yet, but I had totally forgotten that I had broken this chapter into two parts _:o

**Disclaimer: Athough I DO NOT own the TMNT, Casey, the toves, the bandersnatch, the jabberwock, or any of the riddles, I DO OWN THE POEM "THE REAL JABBERWOCKY" PLEASE DO NOT COPY WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!! **

* * *

The two toves, Casey and Ennuyeux started out for the Fortress of the Enigma. 

"After we get to the fortress, you'll have to be very careful. It will take a lot of convincing for the gate keepers to let you in. But after you're inside, you'll see a lot of strange things, so be prepared."

"Dude, my four best buds're giant mutant turtles, I'm walkin' around a place with talkin' corkscrews an' a blue dude. I don't think weirdness's goin' ta be a problem."

"Ok, just don't say I didn't warn you," the bandersnatch muttered.

After about an hour of walking, they reached an enormous, stone and metal structure.

"HALLOOOOOO?" Ennuyeux called out.

There was no answer.

"HALLOOOOOO?" he called again.

Still no answer.

Frustrated, Ennuyeux stretched his super-long neck up so that he could see over the battlements.

"There's no one on the grounds," he called down before dropping his head back to its normal height. "This is weird," said Ennuyeux, puzzled. "There's normally a regiment of troops stationed on the wall."

"What do you think happened to them?" asked Guts.

"I…well, uh…I have no idea," stammered the confused bandersnatch. "I guess we'll just have to open the Gate of Riddles."

"The what?" Casey didn't like the sound of that.

"It's the side door. It has a special password protection, so it won't open unless you can solve its riddles. It's a real pain in the brain," Ennuyeux explained.

"Well, let's get goin'. I ain't half bad at riddles," replied Casey.

Together they walked around the side of the fortress until they reached a small door in the wall. It was not a very imposing door, just made out of simple planks of wood. Ennuyeux knocked on it twice and said, "Open up, open up! Let four come in."

Suddenly, a face appeared on the door and spoke.  
"You know that phrase is just no good,  
Since I am made of wood.  
I just can't let you come on in  
By the hairs on my chinny-chin-chin.

So tell me, travelers one and three,  
Just whom and what might you be?  
And please don't say 'oh, it's me,'  
'Cause I don't know you, can't you see?"

"See why I said this door was a pain?" the bandersnatch whispered to Casey. Then Ennuyeux announced, "I am a frumious bandersnatch, these two are slithy toves. The last of us is human, though what he is nobody knows."

"At least he didn't say you're a monkey," Blood whispered to Casey.

Then the door continued.

"OK, so you just might get in,  
If my little game you win,  
Want to give this a go  
To see the answer if you know?"

"Sure, we'll give it a try," Ennuyeux replied.

Guts muttered under her breath, "or I think these rhymes will make me die!"

A huge grin crossed the door's wooden face.

"Oh, good, now rule number one,  
Before you can get in.  
You must answer my riddles three  
If you want to win.

Rules three and two,  
Here's what you do,  
You miss one, the game stops.  
Two guesses each:  
The limit's reached,  
And no more tries per pop.

Do I make myself clear  
Or have I talked off your ear?"

Casey groaned. "Enough with the rhymes, already!" he exclaimed. "Just ask us the stupid riddle already!"

The door huffed, annoyed.

"You think my poem's annoying?  
How dare you think such a thing!"

"Easy, human," Ennuyeux told Casey. "You don't want to get the door mad or it won't let us in."

"Couldn't we just bust it in?" Casey whispered back.

"No," explained the bandersnatch. "It's protected by a powerful magic. Nothing can break it."

Casey's face fell. "Aw, crud. I was hoping I'd get ta break somthin'."

All the others rolled their eyes.

"Just ask us the riddles, already," Blood said impatiently.

"All right, all right,  
Riddle number one;  
Think with all your might  
And have some fun.

Thirty white horses  
On a red hill.  
First they chomp, then they stomp,  
Then they hold still."

Casey laughed triumphantly. "I've got that 'ne since I was a kid back in school. It's teeth!"

The door's face lit up yellow, and then replied in a taunting voice:

"Correct, though that's no surprise,  
Now for riddle two,  
This one's much harder, realize,  
Whatever shall you do?

It's the beginning of eternity,  
The end of time and space.  
The starting of everywhere,  
And the end of every place.

Now before you roll your eyes,  
Try to guess what am I?"

"Uh, uh…" Casey was at a loss.

"Fall back, we'll discus this, then be right back to you, Mr. Door," Guts suggested.

"A very sensible idea, sister," commented Blood.

The four travelers withdrew to a sort-of huddle.

"Any ideas?" Blood asked.

Ennuyeux was the first to answer. "I actually remember this riddle from my days in the training academy. It is really quite simple."

"Well, then what is it?" both the toves exclaimed impatiently.

"Yeah, dude, out wid it!"

"OK, here it is," Ennuyeux replied. "E."

"Huh?" Casey was confused.

"E," Ennuyeux repeated. "Eternity and everywhere both begin with the letter E. Time, space, and place all end with the letter E. Very simple."

"I thought space ended wid a C," Casey muttered under his breath.

Together, they turned back to the Door of Riddles.

"The answer is E," Ennuyeux announced.

Once again, the door's face glowed yellow.

"Very good, there's left now just one.  
Get it right, and then you're done.  
This last one is very small,  
And, I promise, that is all.

Give me food and I will live;  
Give me water, I will die  
Tell me, friend, what am I?"

This time, even Ennuyeux did not know the answer, so they fell back again to discuss it.

"What could it be?" Blood wondered.

The bandersnatch shrugged. "This is a new one to me. I've never heard it before."

By now, evening was beginning to creep across Tulgey Wood.

"Well, we might as well get settled for the night." Ennuyeux dejectedly flopped down onto the ground. "Who wants to get food for the fire?"

Blood and Guts suddenly stared at each other excitedly. "We know the answer! We know the answer!" They danced around in a circle, chanting.

"What'cha waitin' for? Spill it!" Casey exclaimed impatiently.

"Ok, ok, here it is," Blood began eagerly. "You know how you have to get brush to 'feed' a fire?" Guts continued. "And use water to put the fire out?" interrupted Blood. "Well, that's the answer!" they finished together, triumphantly.

Casey and Ennuyeux glanced blankly at each other.

"What is?"

"Fire, of course," Guts announced with annoyance.

As if it had overheard them, the Door of Riddles' face once again lit up yellow.

"Correct, you've solved my riddles three.  
So now, as we did agree,  
I guess I'll have to let you in  
And hope your battles you shall win."

The Door of Riddles opened up to reveal a long tunnel leading to the Fortress of Enigma's grounds. After a moment of walking, the tunnel opened up to reveal an enormous grassy area surrounding a massive, glass-like structure.

"Whoa!" an astonished Casey exclaimed.

"Oh, yes, I forgot to mention. The Fortress was designed to be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside," Ennuyeux explained.

As Casey was trying to figure this out, a loud roaring came from up near the top of the building, followed by a flash of light and more roaring.

"That roaring was Fred!" Blood exclaimed. "He must have gotten out of the Time Freeze!"

Panic showed in the bandersnatch's eyes. "He'll eat me for sure, now!"

"We won't let him eat you," Guts consoled Ennuyeux. "Let's just get in and get out before he can find you."

"Yes, yes, and maybe find out what happened to the warlocks," the flustered bandersnatch calmed himself.

As the fading sun was glinting on the glass of the fortress, the four adventurers hurried forwards towards the entrance. Together, Ennuyeux and Casey pulled the doors back, revealing another long passageway made entirely of stone. It was, however, wide enough to allow both of the toves, the bandersnatch, and Casey to walk through side by side.

"Be very careful. This hall is laden with booby traps," Ennuyeux announced softly.

Almost immediately, the ground fell out from under Blood and Guts and they fell into a deep pit.

"DUCK!" the bandersnatch yelled, puling on Casey's pants leg. Casey dropped to the floor. Less than a moment later, darts flew overhead and embedded themselves on the opposite wall. Casey rolled over, gasping. Little did he know that his arm hit another stone, making it sink slightly. Panting, Ennuyeux crawled over to the edge of the pit.

"Are you two alright?"

"Never better," was Gut's sarcastic reply.

Casey joined Ennuyeux at the edge. The pit was so deep that he was unable to even see either of the toves.

"There should be a small tunnel leading out of there and into a secret exit," the bandersnatch called down to the trapped Blood and Guts.

"Yeah, I see it," Blood called back up. "But it is too small for either of us to fit through!"

"Any ideas?" Guts called up.

"Uh, nope. I got nutin'," Casey called back.

"I don't know what to tell you," Ennuyeux added. "It's just the right size for bandersnatches. Of course, it also helps that some of us can shrink…" his voice trailed off.

"What'cha thinkin', dude?"

"About noses," responded the bandersnatch.

"How's a nose goin' ta help 'em out of dat pit? Can't ya think of somptin' useful?"

"It is useful," Ennuyeux argued.

"Well, just tell us already," Blood yelled. "I don't really like it down here!"

"Ok, ok, sheesh! Don't get your knickers in a twist!" the offended bandersnatch muttered under his breath. "Do you think you can gimble the edges of the opening to make it bigger? The actual passage is just behind it and is much larger."

They heard a grinding noise from below them. "Yeah, but it will take a little while," Blood called up.

"You guys go on ahead; we'll meet up with you once we're out."

"Ya sure 'bout that?" Casey yelled back.

"Why Mr. Jones, I thought you didn't like us very much," Guts teased.

"Well, I, uh…." Casey's face turned bright red. Luckily, or perhaps, unluckily, he did not have a chance to answer, as the ceiling was starting to slowly lower down to the floor.

Ennuyeux looked up. "RUN!"

He and Casey took off for the door on the far side of the passageway. To Casey's great surprise, the bandersnatch easily outran him and was at the door in a flash. Finally, he caught up and Ennuyeux pulled him through the door and into the next room. From behind them, they could hear the dull thud of the ceiling hitting the floor.

Casey pushed and pulled the door frantically, but vainly.

"What are you doing?"

Casey did not answer, just slumped up against the door and slid to the floor. "I can't git the stupid door open, an' the corkscrews're still in dere!"

"First of all," Ennuyeux started, "DUH! You couldn't get in there even if you were as tiny as a mome rath's twelfth split. Second, don't worry, they're in that pit, remember? The ceiling stops at the floor level. They're probably safer down there than we are up here. Now come on, we don't have time for this. The sooner we get this done and over with, the sooner you'll go back home and I won't be eaten."

Casey got back to his feet. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But I still don't like leaven' the two of dem back dere."

"They will be fine," Ennuyeux assured him. "Come on."

This room's long walls were covered in mirrors and other mirrors were placed strategically throughout so that every inch of the room could be seen regardless of where one stood. These were no ordinary mirrors, though. They were like the type you would find in an amusement park or carnival. Casey nervously followed Ennuyeux, while out of the corner of his eye watching himself become tall, thin, short, fat, and other much-distorted shapes.

"Uh, any more traps I'd need ta know 'bout, dude?"

The bandersnatch shook his head. "None. Usually, nothing can get through there unless it's a bandersnatch. All the traps are activated by stepping on booby-trapped tiles. We're just lucky that they didn't all go off."

"How come you can get through?"

"Bandersnatches don't actually walk on the ground. We float precisely two millimeters off the ground. That means we can't trigger any of the traps," explained Ennuyeux.

They continued on in silence for a few minutes until Ennuyeux stepped back behind one of the protruding mirrors, swinging it to reveal a cleverly hidden elevator door. As he pressed the up button, the mirrors surrounding the room began to leave the walls, floating around until settling in a maze behind them.

"Standard security procedure," Ennuyeux shrugged.

A bell dinged. Casey and Ennuyeux entered the elevator.

Soft music played in the background as the elevator shot up to the top floor. Ennuyeux rocked back and forth impatiently.

"You ready?" he asked, glancing over at Casey.

"You bet!" An excited twinkle was in Casey's eye as he pulled out and eagerly stroked his metal bat.

"Um, just so you know, human, no other creature is supposed to be in the upper rooms, so try to not make the warlocks angry or they will fry you."

Just then, the doors opened to reveal a smallish storage room. The walls were lined with shelves holding every sort of gadget and doodad Casey could imagine. However, the most interesting sight was in the middle of the room. There was a large, empty pedestal surrounded by twelve pairs of boots at regular intervals.

Ennuyeux swore.

"That's where the Jabberwock was," he said, pointing to the pedestal. "And those boots belong to the warlocks."

A small door off to the side had been torn off of its hinges and the opening was busted larger.

"Aw, man!" Casey complained. "I was hopen' for sum action!" He swung his bat around, almost knocking a shelf over.

"Easy. Let me just grab your part, then we'll find out what happened." Ennuyeux started searching the shelves for the right part.

Meanwhile, Casey was looking around the room. Suddenly, he heard a slight whimper from under the dislocated door. Ready for almost anything – or at least he thought he was – Casey pulled the door over. It was a lot heavier than it looked. Cowering where she had been hiding was a tiny, female bandersnatch. Everything about her, from her hair to her skin to her dress, was pure white.

"Please don't eat me!" she begged.

"What is it with you guys thinkin' I'm a'goin ta eat you?" Casey grumbled.

"Hey, Any You, this your girlfriend?"

Without turning around, the bandersnatch replied, "First, my name is Ennuyeux. Second, I don't have a girl friend. What are you talking about?"

Bawling, the girl stood up and ran to him, grabbing him as he turned around and refused to let go. Casey burst out laughing.

"Hey, let go, Selena! What happened?"

"It was terrible! Just terrible! All of a sudden, the warlocks all went poof and the Jabberwock woke up!"

"They just went poof?" Ennuyeux repeated incredulously.

She nodded her tearful head. "I was bringing them their afternoon bubble berry juice and suddenly, one after another they just disappeared with a poof! Then the Jabberwock yawned, jumped down, and chased me around the room until I threw the juice into its face! Then it ran out of the room screaming! Oh, Ennuyeux, I was so scared!"

"There, there," he consoled her. "Everything will be all right. Why don't you use the transporter and go to the safe house for a vacation. You need it."

"OK," Selena said hesitantly. "Are you coming too?"

"Not just yet," Ennuyeux smiled.

"We've got a Wokky ta clobber!" Casey hit his palm with his fist. A crazy grin crossed his face, although he wished that he still had his hockey mask.

Selena backed away a little. "Um…I'm going now. Are you sure you won't come with me right now and leave that big behemoth behind to fight the Jabberwock, Ennuyeux?"

Casey crossed his arms and scowled.

With as much bravado as he could muster, Ennuyeux replied, "And leave this goofball to have all the fun?"

"Just don't let him eat you, please?" she begged.

"Hey, it's me!"

"I know. That's why I'm worried." She pulled a green ring off of a nearby shelf. "Last chance!"

"Go, I'll be fine." She placed the ring on her tiny finger and disappeared with a flash.

With a smirk, Casey teased, "Don't have a girl friend, huh?"

Ennuyeux gave Casey a withering look. "That was my sister, goofball."

"Oh, uh…well…" Casey stammered, embarrassed. "Let's go find that Wokky"

"Just let me get something to fix your transporter." Ennuyeux grabbed a small wire off of another shelf. "Before we go on, I really should fix this…"

But Casey had already gone out the broken door frame after the Jabberwock. Ennuyeux sighed and chased after him. Casey ran through two more rooms before coming to an enormous atrium filled with all sorts of colorful, exotic plants. Finally, Ennuyeux caught up to him. The bandersnatch stayed in the doorway as Casey was searching around the planters.

"Find anything?" Ennuyeux called.

When Casey turned around to answer, his jaw dropped. Creeping up behind the bandersnatch was a Jabberwock twice the size of the imitation one that Ennuyeux had used, and it was ready to pounce.

"DUCK!" Casey yelled, pointing at the Jabberwock.

Instantly, Ennuyeux dropped to the floor just as the enormous beast leapt over him. He skidded along the pale, slippery floor tiles as it tried to stop and turn for another pounce. Then, with a bang, he crashed against a large Tumtum tree, rupturing a sprinkler. Casey ran towards it. The Jabberwock picked himself up, its silvery scales glistening as water from the sprinkler sprayed upon it.

"GOOOONNNNNGGGGAAAAALLLLLAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!" Casey charged, his bat raised high in the air.

With little effort, the Jabberwock grabbed Casey around the middle, lifting him up off the ground. Casey whacked the Jabberwock's arm with all his might, but to no avail. The Jabberwock merely growled and threw Casey forwards. Right before Casey hit the floor, a green stasis field surrounded him and lifted him back up to the Jabberwock's eye level. Out of the corner of his eye, Casey could see the Jabberwock lift his other arm out towards the bandersnatch. To Casey's dismay, Ennuyeux was also surrounded by a green stasis field and was floating up to the Jabberwock. Though they tried with all their might, neither Casey nor Ennuyeux could move. They were caught.

Hovering only about a foot away from the sharp, razor-like teeth of the Jabberwock, Casey braced himself for the worst. He was shocked when the beast began speaking.

"Why do you humans and bandersnatches always attack us Jabberwocks?"

Its voice came out in a deep – though almost sad – rumble.

"We have never done anything to you, but yet you persecute us endlessly."

"You eat us and you attack humans!" Ennuyeux managed to grunt out through clenched teeth.

The Jabberwock only looked at him sadly. "First of all," it answered. "No self respecting Jabberwock would ever eat a bandersnatch, or any other living thing. We're vegetarians. Sadly, we're always being confused for snarks. They are the vicious, bandersnatch-eating ones. And about the humans? Well," the Jabberwock sighed, "They never quite got their facts right. That actually happened to my grandfather when I was quite young. Let me tell you what really happened:

"''Twas brillig and the slithy toves  
Did gyre and gimble in the wade;"  
Or so did the story go  
Upon that fateful day.  
The jubjub birds were in a mood  
–Attacking everyone they met.  
The bandersnatch was being rude  
And stole four voices a' fore sunset.  
The Jabberwock was feeling shy;  
Its jaws refused to bite  
And it couldn't get its claws to catch  
Though he tried with all his might.  
Then to make all matters worse,  
A beamish lad did come along  
Swinging 'round his vorpal sword  
And breaking out in tuneless song.  
The Jabberwock, it tried to flee,  
To far away from song so rank  
But song so bad, it filled his ears  
And wouldn't let him think.  
So turning back gainst better thought  
The Jabberwock attacked.  
Bright tears shone in his eyes  
And spikes rose from his back.  
The noisy lad did stop and gasp  
At such a fearful sight  
As a Jabberwock driven to tears  
Attacked with all his might.  
So closing his eyes real tight,  
The lad did blindly swing his sword  
Hoping gainst luck that he could win  
And not be Wokky gored.  
Suddenly, silence filled the air;  
The lad allowed himself to peak.  
The sight that filled his eyes took  
Away his will to speak.  
Before the boy, upon the ground  
– To his utmost shock –  
Lying there without its head  
Was the former Jabberwock.  
Pride glistened in his eyes  
As he lifted up the head  
Perfect would this present be  
And back to home he sped.  
Kneeling to his father,  
The boy held forth his prize.  
As his father looked upon the corpse  
Horror filled his eyes.  
"My son, oh, what have you done?  
Know not you what you hold?  
Endangered, is the Jabberwock!"  
So did the father scold.  
"But my father," the boy cried,  
"It attacked me without reason.  
I did not know, it's really true,  
And that nothing to sneeze on!"  
Hurrying back to where he left  
The Jabberwocky's body,  
He knelt beside the lifeless corpse;  
His nose becoming snotty.  
Finally he could wait no more,  
And the tears began to flow.  
He put the head down and cried  
"How was I supposed to know?"  
Standing up, drying his tears,  
The boy picked up a shovel  
And began to dig the creature's grave  
Among the tiny gravel.  
Soon the awful deed was done  
With no one else to know  
About the Jabberwock who died  
So home the lad did go.  
The jubjub birds were flying high,  
The toves were eating cheese.  
And the bandersnatch and borogoves  
Were slinking 'midst the trees."

The Jabberwock sighed again; a tear appeared at the corner of his eye.

"I came along at the exact moment that my grandfather's head was chopped off. I stayed hidden in the bushes because I was afraid of that boy. However, I did follow him to find out what had happened. He even went whistling back to his father. I have never heard such an awful din as that was."

The Jabberwock shock his head quickly, composing himself. "But I digress. Now, what should I do with you, little warlock and strange warrior? Wait…" he sniffed Ennuyeux. "You aren't a warlock, are you? You don't even have a magical aura."

The Jabberwock dropped both arms and instantly Casey and Ennuyeux fell down on the floor with a thud.

"Sorry about that misunderstanding. I just knew that if you were a warlock, you would not hesitate to use your magic to try to destroy me."

"That's fine," Ennuyeux replied, rubbing his head. "It seems like there's been several misunderstandings around here."

The Jabberwock nodded his enormous head graciously.

Casey scrambled to his feet. "Wait! Ya mean there's no bashin' after all? Man! Whata rip!"

"Just one question," Ennuyeux said, his brow furrowed. "How did you get away from the warlocks and where did they go?"

But before the Jabberwock could answer, the floor beneath them began to rumble and crack. Suddenly, over near the door, a large hole opened up and another, smaller Jabberwock jumped up through it. Much to Casey's delight, Blood and Guts followed it up through the opening.

"DADDY!" the small Jabberwock cried, running over to them.

"Hi, Fred! Hi, Mr. Jones! Hi, Ennuyeux! We knew we'd find you!" Blood and Gut's both said at the same time.

The little Jabberwock embraced her father tightly. "I'm SO GLAD my spell worked, Daddy. I missed you so much," Fred's daughter babbled.

Her father patted her gently on the head. "And what did you do?"

"I sent all of those mean ol' warlocks to fourth-earth."

Ennuyeux gave a sigh of relief.

"At least that's just one dimension away. They should be safe there."

"Oh, how rude of me," Fred suddenly exclaimed. "Let me introduce my daughter, Bethany. She's been studying magic with the Plevels of the Garden of Labyrinth. By the way, honey, how did you meet up with my old friends, the toves?"

Bethany shrugged. "They just ran into me."

"We had just finished gimbling out of that pitfall trap and into the secret corridor," Guts explained. "That tunnel has a lot of twists and turns," Blood added. "We were coming around one from one side and Bethany was coming around from the other. We didn't see each other and crashed into each other as we turned the corner." "Then we decided that it would be much faster if we went together to look for the three of you."

"And now we found you!" Bethany kept holding on to her father, almost seeming to purr like a kitten. "Ah, but we can't stay here much longer, my darling," the large Jabberwock said tiredly. "The warlocks will be back any moment after they've regained their strength. They would not hesitate to harm you."

"Maybe I can help with that," Ennuyeux piped up. "I can get you both out of the Fortress and into the Forest through secret passageways. But after that, it will be up to you."

"Wait just one flippin' second," Casey interrupted. "We came all this way ta get here an' now we're just leaven' just like that?"

"I have the right part for your transporter," Ennuyeux reminded him, holding out the string-like piece. "It really doesn't matter where we fix it, now."

"Well, OK," Casey muttered, still not happy about the situation.

Ennuyeux led them back down through the secret passageways and out into the courtyard surrounding the Fortress of Enigma. They encountered no problems with the Door of Riddles as they left, although the Door did call out after them, but it was seemingly unintelligible.

"When you leave, it talks to you backwards," Ennuyeux explained briefly.

The bandersnatch appeared nervous as they continued farther into the forest until the Fortress was out of sight. The stars were now wheeling in their courses as they all reached the glade where Ennuyeux had first tried to attack them with his machine. It was time for good byes.

"Thank you, friend bandersnatch," Fred exclaimed warmly, gently shaking Ennuyeux's hand. "And good bye, strange human," he nodded to Casey.

"See you soon!" The two toves waved as the two Jabberwocks, Fred and Bethany, faded into the trees.

"OK, let me fix this thing," Ennuyeux sighed, sitting down.

Casey sat down against a nearby tree and was soon fast asleep.

--------------------

Perhaps an hour later, he awoke to find that Blood and Guts had both curled up next to him. Ennuyeux was just closing up the outer covering of the transporter. After a moment, the two toves stirred and also awoke.

"It's finished," the bandersnatch announced softly.

"Great!" Casey jumped up.

"There's just one thing…" Ennuyeux muttered nervously.

"What?" Casey asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Would you take me with you?"

The question surprised Casey. "Why dude? Looks ta me like you've got a pretty sweet gig goin' on here. Whatcha wanna leave it fer?"

"I don't think the warlock council would agree with you there," Ennuyeux said with a sad smile. "I'm a criminal now. I've committed several capital offenses. I abandoned my post, allowed a strange being into the Fortress's most secret and inner chambers, and consorted with and released our most dreaded enemies, the Jabberwocks. The punishment for any one of these is," he gulped, "the removal of one's head."

"You did all that for us?" Guts asked in awe. "Why?"

"It was the right thing to do," Ennuyeux hung his head. "But I doubt that the council would see it like that."

Even Casey was not untouched by this revelation. And so, he squatted down next to the distraught bandersnatch.

"Ya know, man, you're a cool dude. If ya wanna come, you can. I'll introduce you to the guys, Master Splinter, and my main girl April. They'll know what ta do better than anyone else."

"You mean it?" Hope filled Ennuyeux's eyes.

"Yeah," Casey grinned sheepishly.

All this emotion was making him uncomfortable. "Now," he said, straightening himself up, "let's see if that doohickey works now."

Immediately, Blood and Guts were on them, hugging them both tightly. "We'll miss you!" they wailed.

"Come back someday, OK?"

Casey and Ennuyeux waved, and with a push of a button, they disappeared into a flash of light.


	9. The Secret Past

_A/N: I won't be able to access the internet at home for three weeks, so the only way I'll be able to get on is at school. However, they have a strict "School work or e-mail only" policy, so I'll still be able to reply to your messages. I just won't be able to post the next part for a while. Sorry about that._

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to keep doing this? No one ever reads this any way...(sigh)**

* * *

Index/pronunciation guide

**LeYa'el** -- Lee-_Yay-_Ell

**Kree** -- exactly as it looks

**Fae** -- Fay

**Yomi** -- Land of the Dead in Japanese mythology

* * *

Leonardo sighed contently as he snuggled deeper into the soft sheets of his bed. _Wait!_ His mind tried to think through the fog of sleep that still hung over him. _A bed? Was all that just a dream?_

His eyes flashed open. No, those last three days were most certainly real. He had the bruises to prove it.

Stiffly, Leonardo sat up and looked around. His brothers and Sasori were in beds throughout the room and were snoring softly (except for Raphael, who was snoring quite loudly). A soft light was shining. Leo tried to locate its source in the pale yellow-green room. Suddenly, he realized with a shock that it wasn't coming from the room at all, but rather through the translucent walls as light would shine through a new leaf. The others were stirring now. Leo eased his stiff leg over the edge of the bed and sat up on the edge. He looked around, but he could not see Yumi or Twigl anywhere. The others had become more coherent now. Raphael was rubbing his head and muttering darkly. Sasori stood up and stretched his sore back. Donatello got up and walked over to Leonardo's side.

"Are you all right now?"

Leonardo looked at him, confused. "Of course. Why?"

"You mean you don't remember?" Sasori joined them.

"Remember what?" the blue-clad turtle puzzled. "The last thing I remember is walking into that cave with the giant mushrooms everywhere. Did something happen? Were we attacked from behind?"

Donatello and Sasori looked at each other.

"You collapsed on the floor, screaming bloody murder," Raphael explained, joining them.

"Then, there was a really foul smell, and we all passed out," Donatello added.

Leonardo looked at one face to another. "I just don't remember any of that." He sighed, shaking his head confusedly.

Michelangelo was the last to wake up. He sat up quickly and jumped out of bed. He, of course, was the first one to ask the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Where are we?"

"And where are our weapons?" Raphael exclaimed, feeling his empty holsters.

"There's no window!" Donatello noticed, looking around.

"No door either," Sasori agreed.

Leo sighed. "Then we're trapped. Again."

"AAARRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!" Raphael slammed the wall with his fist; but his hand went straight through as though the wall was made of paper. A brief glisten of pure white light shone through and then the hole. Then, the wall grew quickly back together over Raphael's hand. He yanked his hand back out, creating another rift. This, too, grew back together.

"Did you see that?" he exclaimed, astonished.

Donatello joined him. "It seems that the walls are alive, much like the technology of Utroms. However, this is even more organic. It's literally made of a plant!"

"Hey, guys! Look!" Michelangelo called from another part of the wall.

Seeing what Raph had done, he had also pushed a hole through the wall. However, he had held his two hands together to keep a peephole through the wall as it grew back up to his fingers. One by one, they peeked out to the outside world. They were about two stories up and thick jungle crowded the view, but distant purple mountains peeked over the tips of the trees. While they were all crowded around, no one noticed that something was growing up through the floor.

By the time Leonardo turned around, an enormous flower bud had grown up on a thick stem.

"Look at that!"

Mesmerized by the new appearance, Michelangelo abandoned his peephole and ran over to the pale pink bud and started poking it.

"I don't think you should do that, Mikey," Leonardo cautioned.

"No, keep doing it," Raphael smirked. "Maybe it will open up and eat you."

Michelangelo instantly stopped.

"Fascinating," Donatello knelt down next to it as Sasori joined him. "It's like a giant tulip."

Gently, Sasori caressed the closed petals. Then, to everybody's shock, the bud sprang open, revealing a tiny, glowing figure standing on the tip of one of the stamen.

It bowed to the five astonished onlookers and announced in a musical voice, "It would please my mistress if you would wash yourselves and then be prepared for an audience with her. Water will be provided momentarily and I shall return to fetch you when the time is right."

With that, it disappeared and the flower began to fill with a sweetly scented liquid. In a few moments, the liquid had completely filled the flower up and was flowing over the sides and being absorbed by the floor.

"Well, I guess we are rather dirty," Leonardo admitted.

They all did their best to rinse themselves and clean off the grime of their journey. The water flowing from that flower was more refreshing than anything they had ever felt before, as though it was the first time that that water had ever been touched by any being. As he was washing his face, Michelangelo accidentally got a little of the water in his mouth.

"Mmmm…that is the nicest water I've ever tasted."

The turtles had just tied their masks back on, when a door-sized opening appeared in the wall. The little glowing fairy-like creature was floating in the middle of it.

"It is time."

"So, uh, where are we?" Raphael asked as they followed the fairy creature down a winding hallway.

"All will be revealed by my mistress," was its only reply.

"Can you at least tell us your name?" inquired Leonardo.

The fairy creature nodded its head. "I am called Kree. I am a Fae. Here we are. Open!"

With its last word, another door-sized opening appeared in the wall, revealing a large room filled with many brightly colored floor pillows. It looked like something straight out of Arabian Nights. Yumi and a strange woman were lounging there, talking, while Twigl was carefully grooming and inspecting his tail. As the boys entered, they both stood.

"Welcome, travelers," the woman bowed.

She was tall and beautiful; everything about her was a pure white: her skin was like fresh snow, her hair like the finest gossamer, and her clothes looked as though they were made from the pure white petals of some sort of flower. However, the most striking thing about her was her pure white eyes that seemed to see everything. Michelangelo's brow furrowed. He felt like he had met this woman before, but he could not remember her.

"My name is LeYa'el, which in your tongue means Eldest. Welcome to my home."

"Thank you for your hospitality, LeYael," Leonardo bowed. "I am—"

"I already know all of you, Leonardo," LeYa'el responded with a smile. "I knew all of you from the moment you entered my realm."

"Your realm?"

"Yes. It is my duty to protect Lower Eyeth from the evils of the upper lands."

"But what of those baboons?" Donatello asked as LeYa'el motioned for them to sit down.

She shook her head sadly. "Alas, I have no jurisdiction over them. My realm is only on this side of the river and bordered on the other by the Sea of Tears. They travel down the river to reach the sea before they sail on to Kozue, the City of Trees. I cannot touch them unless they make landfall here. But did I not tell you, Michelangelo, to not let your brothers go into the cave of mushrooms? Luckily, Twigl here was able to alert me to your plight."

The orange-clad turtle blushed. "Well, actually, I don't remember. It looked really familiar like you do, but I didn't know why."

LeYa'el closed her eyes for a moment. "Yes…I see…You do not remember the dream that I sent you. Well, I guess that is understandable, then. Please forgive my harsh words. It is just that that place is cursed for outsiders. Those who are natives here, like Twigl, can pass through without any difficulty, but those who are strangers in this land are affected with frequently disastrous results."

"Then, why was I not affected by it, LeYa'el?" Yumi asked.

"Don't you remember, child?"

"Remember what?"

"You were born here!"

"I-I was?" Yumi stammered, shocked.

"Indeed. Your mother was my Godchild, so she came here for your birth. You spent the first five cycles of your life here. It was such a joy to have you about around. You showed such promise with your skills. I have rarely seen any with such a grasp of them at such a young age. Of course, your father was a bit of a prodigy, himself."

"My mother? My father? I cannot remember them." Yumi hung her head.

"Then let me tell you their tale," LeYa'el replied.

The four turtles, Sasori, and Yumi made themselves comfortable among the pillows.

"Many, many cycles ago," LeYa'el began, "My Goddaughter was born here. She was the child of one of my best friends. I watched over her with pleasure as she grew into a lovely young woman. It was then that she decided to go to the upper lands, though it was against my wishes. She was away for three cycles. When she finally came back, she brought a young gentleman with her. The two of them had fallen in love during her time in the upper lands and came back to get married. Indeed, my Goddaughter had not done too poorly; her young man was a prince of one of the upper kingdoms, and a powerful one at that. They were soon wed, and after a cycle of wedded bliss, they had a child. That child was you, my dear Yumi. But then one day, a tragic thing happened. As was his wont, your father went off exploring almost every day. He rarely went much farther than a couple of miles away, but on that day, he didn't need to go far to find trouble. He found a cave, similar to the one you did, however, the dark forces were much stronger in that one. When he didn't return that night, we all went out looking for him. Luckily, I was the one who found him since your mother probably could not have withstood the magics. Together, your mother and I brought him back here. We nursed him back to health, but the dark forces had taken a terrible toll on him. He was no longer of his own mind. We thought that maybe by keeping him here, the good magics would be able to restore him, but we were wrong. The evils that affected him went too deep. One night, I awoke to hear screams coming from my Goddaughter's room. I ran to find out what happened. When I arrived, the most terrible sight that I could have ever imagined met my eyes. He was standing there with her body in his arms. His eyes were glowing red like I had never seen before. I had to summon most of my powers to get him away from her, but even so, I could not destroy the evils that had consumed him, only permanently banish him from Lower Eyeth. He will never be able to return here. However, one cannot account for matters of the heart. After she recovered, my Goddaughter took you and went up to the surface to search for your father. I begged her not to return to him, reminding her that he was no longer the man she fell in love with, but she refused to listen. I never heard from her again."

"I never knew what happened to her," Yumi explained, a little sadly. "I guess I always assumed that she, you know, went to Heaven." Then she added with a little smile, "I know it's not really important, but I've always wanted to know. What were my parent's names?"

LeYa'el smiled back understandingly. "Your mother's name was Akarui, and your father was Wanui."

"WANUI! Taku Wanui?"

"Yes indeed. Do you know of him?"

The turtles' and the two Netian's eyes grew wide as they glanced at each other.

"Is there something wrong?" LeYa'el asked.

Yumi was still too stunned to answer, so Sasori hesitantly explained what Wanui had been doing in Netia.

"Oh, my poor dear," LeYael exclaimed. "No wonder you're so upset. I must think upon this matter further. Kree will lead you back to your rooms and get you something to eat. I will summon you later."

With a wave of her hand, the wall opened up and the Fae floated in. The four turtles bowed and took their leave.

"Wait, Leonardo" LeYa'el called after them. "I must see to your leg and Yumi's arm. They have both been infected by the darkness."

She waved her hand above her other hand and conjured two vials out of thin air.

"Here." She handed one to the turtle and one to the Netian. "Swallow this with your meal. Now you may go."

They all bowed and left, except for Twigl, who was curled up and fast asleep on one of the pillows. Sasori put his arm around Yumi's shoulders as they followed after Kree. Her face was drawn and pale.

"Hey, are you OK?"

Yumi just gave a little shrug. "It's just that, well, I don't know. I just don't know what to think anymore." Her shoulders shook a little.

Kree stopped ahead of them, in front of two white streaks in the walls, one on each side of the hallway. As the Fae lifted up her hands, each of the streaks opened as a door into their rooms. "I will be back momentarily with some sustenance for you all." Kree vanished with a soft flash.

"Would you like to come in, Yumi?" Michelangelo asked kindly.

"No, though thank you." She avoided making eye contact with any of them. "I think I need to be alone for a little while."

--------------------

"Do you think she'll be OK?" Michelangelo asked, flopping down on his bed.

Sasori shrugged. "I can't imagine anything worse for someone to find out than that their life-long worst enemy is their father."

Just then, Kree appeared with five plates floating along with her. "I have brought food for all of you. Please eat, and then I shall show you the ways of this household." A plate floated to each of the turtles and to the Netian as the Fae disappeared.

Michelangelo picked up his plate and walked over to the door. "I'm going to go see if Yumi's all right," he announced.

"She said to leave her alone, goofball," Raphael reminded him.

"It's probably not a good idea to bug her right now," Donatello agreed.

The orange-clad turtle turned around, conflict in his eyes. "What do you think, Leo?"

Leonardo was staring at the glowing liquid in the vial that LeYa'el had given him. He looked up with a blank look on his face. "Hmm?"

"Do you think it'd be OK if I went to see if Yumi's alright?"

Leonardo thought for a moment. "Go ahead, but if she doesn't want to talk to you or let you in, don't bug her. It's kind of hard to tell with girls sometimes. You never know what they'll do."

"Oh, like you're the expert," Raphael teased.

Meanwhile, as soon as he had received his oldest brother's blessing, Michelangelo left the room and crossed the hall to Yumi's room. A little nervously, he knocked on the wall where her door was. "Um, Yumi? It's me, Mikey. Can I come in?"

"Just a moment," came the faint reply.

The turtle heard a small splash, and then the door opened. Yumi was standing next to a water-flower, drying off her face with a thick towel. Her eyes were violet, as though she had been crying. As she finished drying the last drops off of her blue skin, she motioned for Michelangelo to sit down. Immediately, a bundle of vines grew up through the floor, making two chairs and a table.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were OK," he explained as he sat down with his plate of food.

"I guess I am," Yumi assured him as she lifted up her own plate of food from her bed and joined him at the table.

They ate in silence for a moment; the food was remarkably good and like nothing Michelangelo had ever tasted before. It was both sweet and spicy, all at the same time. It almost tasted like curry. Finally, Michelangelo broke the silence.

"You know," he said, "people are a lot like apples. It doesn't matter so much what they look like on the outside, or even which tree they come from. It's the inside that's important."

Yumi gave him a funny look. "What's an apple?"

"Oh, um, it's a third-earth food," the turtle explained, embarrassed. "But I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't need to worry that Wanui's your dad. I mean, it doesn't really matter where you come from, just what you do. After all, me and my bros live in the sewers and come from a container of ooze!"

Yumi smiled. "Thank you, Michelangelo. I guess I just always supposed that my parents were more of Wanui's victims, not that my father was Wanui, himself. Actually, I never really thought very much about them since I never really knew them. Now, to drink that medicine LeYa'el gave me."

She pulled the vial out of her pocket and uncorked the top.

"Here goes nothing," she grimaced, swallowing it quickly. "UGH!" she shuddered. "That has got to be some of the worst tasting stuff I have ever had!"

Michelangelo grimaced in sympathy. He had tasted many of Master Splinter's homemade herbal medicines over the years. However, it seemed that this medicine was working quite well. The purple blotch covering Yumi's arm was quickly fading away.

--------------------

Meanwhile, back in the boys' room, the turtles and Sasori had just finished devouring the food.

"OK, sword-boy, time to take your medicine," Raphael teased his brother.

Leonardo held up the vial, looking at the contents with distaste. "I hate medicines," he said, uncorking the small glass bottle.

He quickly chugged down the contents, and then whipped his lips with a wry smile.

"Ugh! Master Splinter's potions are pretty bad, but nothing compared to this!"

All of a sudden, his face turned bright red. Spinning around, he spewed the former contents of his stomach onto the floor where they were quickly absorbed into the floor.

"Leo! Are you OK?" Donatello ran to his side.

"I'M FINE!" the blue-clad turtle screamed, pushing his brother away.

Donatello stumbled back into Raphael's arms.

"Easy, Leo! He just asked you a question!"

Leonardo fell down onto his hands and knees, clutching one hand to his stomach. "I'm fine, I guess," he repeated in his normal voice.

"IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY?" Raphael yelled at him. "JUST 'I'M FINE'?!? WHAT IS UP WITH YOU?"

Leonardo looked confusedly up at his brother. "Raph? What's wrong?"

"WHAT'S WRONG?!? YOU JUST THREW UP AND THEN TRIED TO HURT DON WHEN HE WAS TRYIN' TO HELP YOU!!!"

Pain and fear filled Leonardo's eyes as he looked at Sasori and Donatello. "Is that true?" he croaked.

They both nodded; Donatello was rubbing his arm where his brother had punched him.

"Then why can't I remember it?" Leonardo whispered even more quietly than before. "And why are my hands turning to claws?"

He held his hands up. To his brothers and Sasori, they looked completely normal. But to Leonardo, his hands were changing into long, pointed, brilliantly red claws.

"What is happening to me?"

He passed out on the floor. Immediately, they were at his side.

"Leo!"

"No! Not again!"

Just then, Kree re-appeared. Raphael stormed up to her.

"WHAT WAS IN THAT STUFF HE DRANK?" he shouted in her face.

She pulled back, alarmed. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Look!" Raphael gestured madly at his unconscious brother.

"Oh, my," the Fae gasped, seeing Leonardo. "I must get my mistress!"

She disappeared in a soft flash. Almost immediately, she poofed back in along with LeYa'el.

"Let me see him," she ordered.

The turtles and Sasori felt a force press them back out of the way as LeYa'el walked hurriedly to Leonardo's side.

"Did he say anything before he passed out?"

It was as if they were suddenly being allowed to speak again. They all started talking at once. She held up her hand.

"You, Donatello, speak."

The other two fell silent as the purple-clad turtle explained briefly what happened.

"I see." She nodded her head and straightened up. "The darkness has had a stronger effect on him that I had realized. Come; let us take him to the healing room."

She raised her arm and Leo's limp form floated up as though it was being carried. With a flash, the turtles and Sasori found themselves in a room filled with various plants and shelves full of boxes. LeYa'el lay Leonardo down gently on a bench.

"This may take some time." She motioned with her hand and several vials floated over to her. "You may sit on that bench over there if you promise to stay quiet. This is one of the most difficult darknesses I have ever seen. Kree, will you please kindly fetch the other two?"

Soon, Michelangelo and Yumi were also sitting on the bench, looking very worried. As soon as they had arrived, Donatello filled them in on what happened. LeYa'el was mixing the liquids from the vials in a sphere suspended in mid-air, all the while muttering to herself rapidly and in another language. Not even the linguistic purple-clad turtle had the slightest idea what she was saying, nor even which language she was saying it in. It was all Raphael could do to not leap up and stand right at the woman's side to make sure that his brother would be alright. He tapped his three fingers agitatedly on his leg. This was taking much too long for his taste. They all watched as LeYa'el lowered her hands, causing the orb to float down into Leonardo's slightly open mouth. As soon as it entered, he began to convulse violently. All three of the turtles leapt up and ran towards their stricken brother. A wave of energy sped towards them. Michelangelo and Donatello were knocked back into the wall; however, Raphael hit the ground just in time and was not hit. Jumping back up, he darted forwards. Immediately, he was contained in a cylinder of light.

"Not now, rash one!" LeYa'el exclaimed. "Yumi, I need you to help me. Connect with Leonardo's mind and calm him down!"

The pressure was lifted off of the Netian girl as she walked forwards to the stricken turtle's side. She placed both of her hands on either side of Leonardo's round, green head and her eyes began to glow. The convulsions began to lessen for a moment, but then began to increase again with even more rigor. Yumi was thrown backwards. Sasori jumped up and ran to her side, picking her up and protectively putting his arm around her shoulders. With LeYa'el's attention momentarily elsewhere, the pressure holding Raphael down was momentarily lessened and he darted to Leonardo's side. He gently grabbed hold of one of the flailing arms and began talking softly.

"Hey bro, it's me, Raph. You can hear me, I know ya can. Listen, I know that we usually don't get along, but you need to go with me on this one. Just follow my voice, come on, you can do it."

The turtle's convulsions slowed and he lay still.

"There ya go, bro. Easy now."

The purple that had covered Leonardo's leg began to disappear. A moment passed, and nothing happened. Another moment passed, and they all waited in expectant silence. But nothing happened. All of a sudden, just as the turtles were starting to lose hope, Leonardo's eyes flickered open. The immense pressure that had been holding the turtles down suddenly abated and they joined their brother. It pained them to see how weak he looked.

"How you feeling, bro?" Michelangelo asked, gently stroking his brother's arm.

Leo managed a small grin before his eyes closed again.

"He needs sleep," LeYa'el explained. "It will be much easier for him to fight his spiritual battle now."

"His what?" Raphael spun around, grabbing her arm.

"What aren't you telling us?" Donatello demanded.

Ten expectant eyes turned to the pure white lady.

"The darkness is a possession," she began. "They begin to attack your soul as soon as they have lodged in your body."

"Wait, wait, wait," Mikey waved his hands. "Who what huh?"

"The daemons. Malevolent ethereal beings who feed on despair and thrive on misery. However, the potion I created is a holy water. It weakens daemons."

"So what you're saying is that there's something in him trying to take over his body?" Donatello asked.

"In essence, yes."

"And that was what was in me?" Yumi's brows were drawn together with worry.

"Yes, though it seems like they did not take to you very well," LeYa'el explained. "It was almost like they were begging to escape from you."

"Well, I guess that's good news," the Netian girl smiled wryly.

"So what's happening to Leonardo now?" Sasori asked the question everyone was wondering.

"It varies from person to person. There is no way to tell."

The three turtle's eyes met.

"I think we can help him," Michelangelo suggested.

"But we'll need to stay with him alone for a bit," added Donatello.

"With no mind reading." Raphael cast a glance at Yumi and was amused to see that Sasori still had his arm wrapped protectively around her.

LeYa'el thought for a moment. "You may stay with him alone for exactly one half of an hour, no more. I do not wish for the darkness to consume any more of you."

A light flashed briefly and only the turtles were left in the room. Without a word spoken between them, they sat down in a circle around Leonardo and began to meditate like Master Splinter had taught them.

--------------------

Raphael let his mind go blank, feeling the presence of his brothers. Leonardo's was much fainter than either Donatello's or Michelangelo's. He began to focus on this injured brother's presence, drawing closer and closer to it. At last, he created a mind link, something that only the four brothers could do. Every now and again Master Splinter could connect with Leo's and Mikey's minds, but not like the four brothers could. Master Splinter had explained once that this often happened with those whose spirits grew very close together. A shudder ran through the red-clad turtle's body as he became fully connected to Leonardo's psyche. A visual appeared in his mind's eye. Everything was dark. This was not normal. The eldest's mind was usually like an open field of fresh grass waving in the wind, but now it was all cold and dark. He felt the ground under his feet solidify into something hard and cold. It felt like a mist was rising from it.

_Great. Ice. And here I am being cold-blooded._

Raphael leaned down and touched the ground. In the blackness, it was the only thing that he could be sure of. There were no sights or sounds, only the faint smell of wintergreen. The red-clad turtle grimaced. How his brother could like the stuff, he had never figured out. A sudden thought popped into his head.

_Oh, please don't let this be Yomi_

"LEO! WHERE ARE YOU?"

There was no answer.

_How the shell am I supposed to find him?_

**By looking,** a soft voice replied.

Raphael spun around, but there was no one there. All of a sudden, he thought he saw something. Raph strained his eyes. In the far-off distance, he could see a tiny pinpoint of light, twinkling softly. Running to it, Raphael was startled to see his brother curled up in the fetal position, just lying there. The faint light was radiating from him, but the darkness was trying to blot it out.

"Hey, Leo." Raphael rubbed his brother's shell gently.

Leonardo stirred slightly and looked up at him. "Raph, get out of here before it gets you too," he managed to croak.

"I ain't leavin' you behind, bro. We'll get you through this, like it or not."

"That's right," another voice spoke, as Michelangelo stepped into the light. "You're our brother, we won't let the whatever this is get you."

"Don't even think about telling us to leave, either," Donatello added, joining them.

Leonardo's three brothers gathered close to him and each began to hug him. The light radiating from the blue-clad turtle began to increase. The darkness was now trying even harder to press in, but the light was overcoming it. The light continued to grow, until the darkness was pushed to the farthest limits of his consciousness. The light became almost blinding as Raphael felt his own psyche being pulled back into his own body.

--------------------

The three turtles awoke simultaneously as LeYa'el reappeared in the room.

"Be gone, you daemon!" she cried, pointing her finger at Leonardo.

The turtle's eyes followed to where her finger was pointing. Floating just above the stricken turtle's head was a formless darkness. Eyes glowed red in the upper part, assumedly the head.

"You may have the strength to banish me here in your own house, Blessed One, but I shall be waiting for my prey. The moment he even lays a finger outside of your grounds, I shall consume him!" it rasped in a voice that most closely resembled nails on a chalkboard.

"OUT!" LeYa'el's voice rose, her whole hand now raised against the daemon.

"Just you wait!"

The darkness rose up from Leonardo and phased though the wall. Where it touched, the living wall died.

The three turtles stood up.

Mikey's eyes were wide. "So that was one of those demon-thingies?"

"Yes. Leonardo is free for now. However, that daemon is correct in one thing; I do not have the power to banish it farther than the borders of my garden."

Donatello felt his brother's forehead. It was cool, but not too cold. "Shouldn't he be waking up again now?"

"Indeed, I am surprised that he has not already done so," LeYa'el replied with a slightly puzzled look on her face. "Because of the length of time that the daemon spent in him, it may take a little while longer than usual for him to awaken. Unfortunately, we will have to wait and see."

--------------------

A half hour passed and there was no change in Leonardo's condition. The three turtles stared down at their brother. Only once before had they ever seen him in such a terrible state; and last time, his wounds were physical and mental, not spiritual. Not like this. Michelangelo was still holding tightly to his brother's hand. LeYa'el had stepped back, allowing the brothers to have a quiet moment.

"Will he be OK, Donnie?"

"I dunno, Mikey. This isn't exactly my forte."

"Well, he'd better be OK, or I'm going to kick his butt." Raph growled. His hand clenched suddenly into a fist, desperately wishing for the comfort of his sai's handle.

"When will he wake up?"

"Soon, I hope, Mikey."

However, Leo hadn't even moved.

"Why isn't he waking up?" Raphael turned to LeYa'el angrily. "What'd you do to him?"

"I did nothing," she replied. "He is doing this by himself. He is keeping me out of his mind with as much strength as he pushed you three out. Even if you tried to link with him again, all you will encounter is brightness. The amount of power he possesses is unbelievable."

"So he's choosing not to wake up?"

"No, he is choosing to keep you out. There must be more going on inside of him than I thought. He does not wish for any of you to be harmed. He believes that he must fight his daemons alone."

"It just ain't right!" Raphael exclaimed, pacing back and forth. "Why's he always trying to help us, but won't ever let us help him when he needs it most?"

Donatello and Michelangelo looked at each other sadly. They both knew that this only meant that their hot-headed brother was upset and worried.

"Is there anything we, or anyone else for that matter, can do?" the purple-clad turtle asked.

LeYa'el thought for a moment. "There may be one person who can. He is the mage of the kame city, the Hidden Village. His name is Night-eyes."

"How far is it?"

"It is only about an hour's walk away."

The three brothers glanced at each other. "I'll go," both Raphael and Donatello said.

"I want to stay here with Leo," Mikey announced.

LeYa'el looked at the two turtles who wanted to go with a small smile. "Only one of you can go. They are very secretive and may feel threatened by both of you going. You are more likely to convince Night-eyes to come back here if only one goes. I can send Kree to guide you, but she cannot enter the village. It is protected by a powerful magic that does not allow either of us in since we are both too close to being ethereal beings ourselves."

"We'll draw lots for it," Donatello decided.

Raphael glared at him. "You know I can't draw, Donnie."

"No, no, I mean that we'll have two straws and whoever gets the shortest straw gets to go."

"Sounds good to me," the red-clad turtle agreed.

"Would you mind doing the honors, Mikey?"

"Sure." He reached down to the grass covered floor and plucked two blades. He then held them out to his brothers.

Donatello and Raphael each chose one. Donnie's was shorter. Raphael growled.

"Of all the tough luck…. Hope you can find this guy, Donnie. Don't scare him too bad."

"He's not a human, Raph. He's a kame – a turtle – just like us."


	10. What was Lost shall be Found

_A/N: Thanks for waiting so patiently, everyone. (Let's just say that I am officially sick of pounding and banging of any sort) Really quick FYI, the part in italics all takes place inside Leo's mind. And now for some shout-outs!_

_**CelicaChick --** Thanks, but you'll have to wait and see _:)  
_**Moogs -- **I know. I wish I could take a nap like that. _;)  
_**Caylender --** Wait no more, my friend. And thanks for being patient _:)

**Disclaimer: I did not just walk into a door...ok yes I did. You got me.**

* * *

LeYa'el materialized and then handed Donatello a pack with some food and water in it as well as his extendable bo staff. Kree popped in and hovered next to him nervously.

"Just out of curiosity," Michelangelo asked. "What's to stop that daemon-thingy from trying to take over Donnie after he goes out of your garden?"

"After a daemon has found its assigned host, it cannot ever enter another's body," the pure white woman explained. "You three will be completely safe from it." She turned to the Fae. "Just keep well east of the Sea of Tears," she reminded her.

"Hey, good luck, Don." Raphael roughly put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Yeah," Michelangelo agreed, looking downwards.

"Mikey, what's wrong?"

"Nuthin…I guess I'm just worried about you. That's all."

Donatello gave his baby brother a big hug. "Listen, Mike, I'll be fine and I'll get this Night-eyes guy to come and make Leo all better, OK? Now I need you to be strong in case Leo wakes up before I'm back. Got that?"

The scientifically minded turtle did his best Leonardo-calm imitation. It seemed to calm his brother down a lot.

"You should probably go now," LeYa'el told him. "The sooner Night-eyes can examine your brother, the sooner he might be able to help him."

"I'm on my way." Donatello turned around in a circle. "Um…which way is out?"

--------------------

Thirty minutes later, Donatello was running along the ground of a forest with Kree doing her best to keep up with him. He leaped over a bush and kept going.

"Wait!" Kree called after him breathlessly. "Slow down a bit! You don't need to go so fast!"

The turtle skidded to a halt. "Every second I take is another second that Leo could be getting worse and I'm not there to make sure it doesn't happen."

"I just need to…catch my breath," the Fae panted.

"Can you just tell me how to get there on my own?"

The Fae looked at him witheringly. "What would you have me tell you? Take a left at the fourth banyan tree and then right at the red oak?" she retorted.

With an impatient sigh, Donatello walked back to her and took her five-inch body in his arms. He then started to run again.

"How do you manage to run for so long?" she wondered.

Without slowing down, Don replied tersely, "Lots and lots of practice. Leo has us run back home, sometimes for hours. I used to hate it, but right now I'm sure glad that he did that."

They continued in silence for a couple of minutes.

"Turn here." She pointed at a large, reddish tree. "That is the boundary of the kame clan's lands. I won't be able to go much farther with you."

As soon as she said that, Donatello felt her body being dragged out of his arms as though a solid wall was holding her back. She floated in mid-air.

"Go on ahead," she waved to him. I'll be right here on your way back."

"How do I get to the village?"

"Keep going that way for about half a kilometer." She pointed straight ahead.

"OK, thanks," the turtle responded. He turned away and then back again. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Never better," she smiled.

He ran off in the direction she had pointed.

He went on for another ten minutes before spotting any signs of population. There were a few round, adobe houses sitting under very large trees. Each one was a deep green and had dark brown panels covering the pointed roofs. They almost looked like giant turtles.

"Uh, hello?" Donatello called.

No one answered; there was no sign of life.

"Is anyone here?"

He walked past the buildings. Before him stood a tall, wooden wall with sharpened spikes on top. He walked over to the closed gate and tried to open it. The gate was tightly locked.

"Hello?" Don pounded on the gate. "Is someone there? My brother is very sick! I need to speak with Night-eyes!"

There was no response from inside except for a baby's cry that was quickly muffled.

"Please! Someone open the gate!"

The gate remained closed. Disappointed, Donatello turned towards a large tree whose boughs were hanging over the wall.

"Well, there's more than one way to get in."

Using his bo staff, he vaulted up to one of the lower limbs and then climbed higher until he could see over the wall. Inside the village, there were many houses and buildings almost identical to the ones he had seen outside of the wall. However, there were no people.

_They must all be in hiding,_ the turtle realized. He edged along the branch until he was in the town. _If they're so paranoid, this could be suicide,_ he thought to himself. _But if I don't, then who knows if Leo will survive._

He leapt onto a nearby roof, landing as silently as a cat. From there, he dropped down to the ground.

"Stranger, why have you come here?" a voice spoke from nowhere.

For some reason, it was strangely familiar to Donatello, but he couldn't quite place it.

"LeYa'el sent me!" Don called back. "My brother is very sick and won't wake up, so she said that Night-eyes might be able to cure him!"

"How do I know you speak the truth? Where are you from? There are no other kame in all of Eyeth."

"My name is Donatello and I'm from New York City on third-earth."

"Donnie?" The voice sounded very surprised.

Suddenly before him, another turtle materialized, seemingly out of midair. She wore a lavender cloak and was carrying a katana on her back. Her eyes were masked with a white bandana.

"Donnie? Is that really you?"

"Crystal?!?" His mouth hung open in shock. "But…but you're dead!"

"It's good to see you too! I was not dead. That ooze from the Shredder's building just transported me here. Oh wait, do you know about the Shredder?" She embraced him tightly as he nodded. "It's all right, every one! Come out! Everything's alright!"

From the buildings around him, several other turtles came pouring out.

"How in all the worlds did you get here, Donnie? Are the other's here too?"

"Well, it's kinda a long story, but yeah, everyone's here. But as much as I want to catch up, we really don't have time. Leo's really, really sick." Donatello looked sadly into his long-lost sister's eyes.

"What's wrong with him?" Worry filled her voice.

"The daemons got him."

Her eyes got very wide. She grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards a large building with a red roof. "Then hurry, we must get my husband!"

"You're married?" the purple-clad turtle exclaimed incredulously.

"And I have a son, too," she replied. "You can meet him later."

She flung open the door. "Night-eyes! This is my brother, Donatello and he just came saying that my other brother Leonardo was taken by the daemons! Can you do something? Please?"

"Calm down, calm down Darling."

Another turtle walked forwards, wiping his hands on a cloth. He was much taller than Donatello, though his body was just as sinewy. The most striking thing about him was his pitch black eyes that seemed as if they could look right through you and the long yellow stripes running across his face and down his neck – much like the painted turtle of earth. The only clothes he was wearing were wrist and elbow guards as well as a black belt.

"Welcome, stranger." He turned towards Donatello. "My wife has told me much about you and the rest of her brothers. Would you mind explaining exactly what happened?"

While Don quickly recapped everything that had happened since they had arrived in Eyeth, Night-eyes' face grew more and more grave.

"This is much more serious than I had imagined. " He creased his brow. "If even LeYa'el was unable to completely heal him, then I don't know if I'll be able to succeed."

He took a quick glance at his wife and her adopted brother. Seeing their faces fall, he quickly added, "But that doesn't mean I won't try."

"Oh, thank you!" Crystal planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Just let me make a few preparations before leaving, and then I shall be right there." He grabbed a book off of a table and flipped over several pages. "No, no, where is it…" he muttered to himself, walking to the back of the room.

While he was searching, a small turtle came running down a set of circular stairs.

"Jaden! What have I told you about running in the house when we have guests?"

The youngster slowed down a bit. "Sorry, Mama," the little turtle said, looking embarrassed.

"I take it this is your…son?" Donatello asked, still trying to wrap his mind around that thought.

"Yes. Let me introduce him to you."

The child came up and stood by his mother. She stroked the head of the youngster. He reached his arms up, obviously wanting to be held. Crystal leaned down and picked him up.

"This is my son, Jaden. He just had his second birthday."

Donatello smiled at him. Jaden smiled back shyly and snuggled his face into his mother's shoulder.

"This is my brother, your Uncle Donnie," Crystal explained, hugging Jaden tightly before setting him back down. Jaden promptly sat down on Donatello's foot.

"AHA! I found it!" Night-eyes exclaimed from the other side of the room. He pulled a piece of parchment out from inside a large tome. "I knew I had stuck that spell somewhere. Now, what do I need…?" He read the list carefully. Picking up a leather bag from where it was lying on the table, he walked over to a large cabinet. After unlocking it, he began to pull out various vials and pouches and stuck them into the larger bag.

"Should we go ahead and start heading over there?" Crystal asked.

"We?" Donatello interjected before Night-eyes could answer.

Crystal gave him a look. "Of course! You don't think that I don't want to see everybody, do you? And I can't leave Jaden here all by himself. Imagine the mischief he'd get into! Plus, he really seems to like you. Good luck trying to get him off your foot!"

"If you will wait a moment, please," Night-eyes requested, sticking a bright blue flask into the bag before closing it up, "then you can take the floater."

He picked up a small round disk. Jaden leapt up off of Don's foot and ran over to his father. He grabbed the small, silver object and began bouncing up and down.

"Yay! Me go WHEEE!!!!"

He ran back to his mother. Crystal knelt down on one knee in front of him. He proudly presented his prize to her.

"You need to be careful with that," she said, taking it from him. "You don't want to start it in here, do you?"

Jaden shook his head solemnly, his eyes wide. "That makes things go boom!"

"Yes, that's right. Now go give Daddy a hug before he goes, OK?"

The two-year-old's face lit up. "OK, Mama!" Crystal straightened up as he ran back over to the other side of the room.

Donatello was looking at her with a big grin on his face. "You sure make a great mom, Crystal."

"Oh, thanks." She blushed.

Night-eyes walked over to them, carrying Jaden. He handed the youngster to his wife and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you there in a little while."

"All right, be careful."

The striped turtle disappeared with a flash.

"He's a teleporter," Crystal explained to her adopted brother. "He'll be there in a matter of moments. We, on the other hand, can take the car."

Donatello was incredulous. "You have a car?"

"Of sorts," Crystal shrugged, holding up the silver disk. "This is kind of like a car, though I guess it's really more like a boat that flies on air?" She waited to see if Donatello understood.

"So that's why it's called a 'floater.'" He nodded his head. "Cool."

They left Night-eyes and Crystal's house. As Crystal led them towards the large gate, Don kept seeing out of the corners of his eyes that the village kame were all staring. Some of the younger ones even followed after them.

"Why are they all staring?" he whispered.

"They don't know you. They're just curious," she explained. "Anyway, look at them. What do you notice is different about us and them?"

The purple-masked turtle looked around for a moment, looking as though he was just taking in the sights.

"No one else is wearing a mask," he realized.

"That's right," Crystal confirmed. "I don't even always wear my mask. I usually only wear it if there's going to be any fighting. Since I didn't recognize you when you first showed up, I wasn't sure if you were friendly or not. Good grief, you've sure grown!"

"You've changed too, Crys," Donatello added. "You seem so happy here, much happier than back on Earth."

Crystal grimaced. "I'm really sorry if I was moody or anything like that back on Earth, Don. I don't mean for it to seem that I wasn't as happy as I could be there. I'm sure that I probably let my emotions get the better of me several times. I'm sorry." She hung her head.

"Well, it's not really like it was your fault," Donatello insisted. "You had just lost your Sensei, so of course you weren't totally happy."

Crystal smiled at him, relieved. "I did want to return so badly, you know. I've missed you all so much. For the first few years that I was here, I tried every possible thing that I could to get back to Earth. That's actually how I met Night-eyes. And then after nothing worked, well…one thing led to another and here I am."

She unbarred and pulled open the gate. They walked outside and the gate closed behind them. Crystal held the silver disk out in front of herself.

"Stand back, everyone."

As Donatello picked Jaden up, she flicked her finger against the metal. It began to reverberate. The white-clad turtle let go of it and stepped back. As the disk continued to ring, the air surrounding it began to grow more and more opaque. It slowly began to solidify into a long, brown object. At last, a canoe-like craft floated before them. The silver disk was fixed prominently on the bow. Donatello looked at Crystal with huge eyes.

"That. Was. So. Cool!"

She laughed. "That was my reaction the first time I saw that, too. Come on, climb aboard!"

Donatello put Jaden onto the second row bench. The little turtle refused to let go of his uncle's hand.

"You sit by me!" he demanded.

"OK, ok, just let me have my hand back!"

Both Crystal and Don laughed as they climbed aboard.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Kree is waiting for me at the edge of the barrier by a red, oak-like tree."

"You mean LeYa'el's Fae? Alright, I will make sure to pick her up."

Crystal placed her hand on a joystick that was sticking out of the front of the floater. The craft sped forwards. At first, the purple-clad turtle thought that they might run into the trees that were passing by at a fantastic speed. But then he realized that they seemed to have been planted in a relatively straight row, much like a street. The floater merely skimmed over the light underbrush. In a matter of seconds, they had reached where Kree was relaxing against the red oak tree. She opened one eye.

"Well, it's about time you got back here," she teased. "I had begun to think that you had forgotten about me."

She hopped aboard, landing next to Crystal. "I am guessing that Night-eyes has already arrived?"

"Yes, that's right," Crystal confirmed as the floater began to pick up speed again.

"Then everything is alright," the Fae assured them. "You remember the way, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll see you there!" Kree disappeared with a flash.

As they sped along, the sky began to grow darker, even though it was the middle of the day. Large raindrops began to fall, splashing on their heads. Suddenly, a dazzling flash lit everything up and was followed almost immediately by deeply rolling thunder. Jaden started to whimper and scooted closer to Donatello. After another flash, he began to cling tightly to his uncle. Donatello put his arm around the little turtle protectively. Crystal glanced worriedly up to the sky.

"In the six years I have lived here, only twice have I seen any rain – and neither time was due to natural causes."

"Then what caused it?" Donatello asked.

"An accidental release of power," she replied. "Controlling the weather is something a very few, select number of beings can do. However, I do know that those who have such a power find it very difficult to control since apparently it flows directly from the emotions."

She glanced back at Donatello and Jaden for a moment. Jaden was still holding tightly to Don.

"Not me, mama. An' not him, too. Over there."

He pointed to LeYa'el's house as the floater entered the clearing.

"Thank you, sweet pea," Crystal replied.

"Welcome, Mama," the little turtle smiled, wiping a raindrop from off of his face with the back of his hand.

The floater drew to a stop, right in front of the garden gate. Kree was waiting for them there. She was holding a large leaf over her head in an attempt to ward off the rain.

"Come on, come on, let's get in out of this terrible weather," she called to the turtles.

Donatello skillfully leapt over the floater's side, bringing little Jaden with him. As he moved to put the toddler down, Jaden clung to his neck and pouted.

"I don't wanna go down. Ground's cold!"

With a patient sigh, Donatello pulled him back up. Crystal watched this with much amusement.

"If you aren't careful, you'll never be able to put him down," she chuckled. "Once he gets you to keep holding you, he'll never stop asking for you to pick him up!"

"Oh, I don't mind," Don grinned back at her. "Almost reminds me of Mikey in some ways."

They both laughed as Jaden, who took that as a compliment, beamed brightly.

"I don't know how it is with kame bodies," Kree interrupted their merriment, "but I am becoming soaked all the way through. Can we _please_ go inside now?"

--------------------

After Kree let them into LeYa'el's house, they began to descend the stairs down to the lower levels. That's where Kree said that Leonardo was, along with all the others. She, however, decided to stay upstairs in the kitchen. The stairwell was dark without the light from outside shining through. As they rounded a corner, they heard a small sniffling from just a little below them. Michelangelo was sitting on the lower steps, sobbing his eyes out. Donatello had to work very hard to quell the panic that was rising in his chest. He ran down the rest of the stairs, almost forgetting the child in his arms until Jaden started giggling in the excitement of going fast. Don sat down next to his brother while setting Jaden down next to him.

"Mikey! What's wrong?"

Michelangelo looked up at him, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Leo stopped breathing for a little bit until LeYa'el put him in a bubble of oxygen. She an' that Night-eyes are in there right now and they won't let me in and I don't know where Raph is, but I think he's outside and…and…." He broke down again.

"Oh, Mikey…" Donatello hugged his only younger brother.

It was times like this that he wished that he could be like Leo and always know exactly what to say in situations like this. With pity and sorrow in her eyes, Crystal sat down alongside them and put her arms around her adopted little brothers. Mikey looked up at her, realizing that someone other than Donatello had been there the whole time.

"Um…who are you?"

"Oh, Mikey, Mikey, it's so good to see you again." Crystal just hugged him tighter.

Responding to Michelangelo's confused look, Donatello explained. "Mikey! Crystal's alive! This is Crystal!"

Mikey looked from one face to the other, scarcely allowing himself to believe the news. "Really?" He wiped a stray tear from his cheek.

"Yeah, if she can be alive after all this time, don't you think that Leo will be alright too? I don't think he'll really let some silly old bunch of protoplasm get to him."

"Do you really think so, Donnie?"

Donatello smiled at him gently. "I'm sure, Mikey." _At least I sure hope he is…_ the purple-clad turtle's thought trailed off as he hoped that he sounded more confident than he felt.

As Crystal released him, Michelangelo rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. He did his best to let his signature grin spread across his face. As he did so, the weather outside began to clear a little. They couldn't hear the pounding of rain anymore and more light was beginning to pour in through the pale green walls.

Tired of not being the center of attention, Jaden climbed up onto Michelangelo lap and made a pouty face at him.

"Crying makes rain go splash, splash, splash on my head an' me don't like!"

"Sorry 'bout that, little dude."

In all of solemnity, Jaden looked at Michelangelo and replied, "That's okay. I forgive you."

A huge grin crossed Mikey's face. "Little dude, you are one shell of a turtle." He rubbed the toddler's head. "So what's your name?"

"Jaden." "I see. And how'd you get here?"

"With Mama an' Uncle Donnie."

Michelangelo turned to his adopted sister in amazement. "You've got a kid?"

"That seems to be the general reaction to that news."

Mikey shook his head in astonishment. "So are you married or not?"

"Married of course, silly goose!"

"Mama, why is the goose silly?" Jaden piped up.

"It's just an expression," Crystal explained.

"So where's your hubby?"

"Right now, he's trying to save Leonardo's life."

At the mention of his ailing brother's name, heaviness settled back down on Michelangelo. He looked longingly at the sealed room at the end of the stairs.

--------------------

Leonardo lay on the table, barely breathing and unaware of the frantic bustling of Night-eyes and LeYa'el around him. He had no contact with the outside world.

_He pounded on the barrier of light. His brothers would probably think that this__ thing was somehow his fault. Okay__, so it kind of was, but he didn't mean to lock himself in; he just wanted to protect them from whatever it was that was hurting him so badly._

_"You'll never get out that way," a voice called out to him. _

_Leonardo spun around. There was a being standing there, leaning up against the barrier. The being was certainly difficult to __describe. It seemed neither here nor there, neither male nor female, neither light nor dark. _

_"Who are you?" _

_"My Master Belial sends his best wishes," it replied, avoiding the turtle's question. "_

_And _who_ are _you_?" Leo persisted. _

_The being sighed. "I am called Lo-Ruhamah, if that will make you happy. Now down to business." _

_"What sort of business?" Leonardo's eyes narrowed as he grew even more suspicious. _

_"Oh nothing much," Lo-Ruhamah shrugged. "I'm just here to help you. You want to return to the land of the living and you want to be able to protect your brothers. I can help you with that. In fact, I was sent specifically for that purpose." _

_"Mmhmm…" Leo crossed his arms. "What's the catch?" _

_"Oh, no catch," the being replied airily. "I just help you with this little problem as well as anything else you're going through when you feel like the world is on your shoulders. You feel that quite often, don't you?" _

_It came over and laid a friendly hand on Leonardo's shoulder. Where it touched immediately became ice cold. The turtle batted it away. _

_"You certainly have trust issues, don't you?" The being smiled and leaned back against the barrier. "That's alright. I can understand how being offered the power to always be able to protect your brothers might seem…disreputable. Oh well…" _

_Both of them were silent. Lo-Ruhamah simply reclined against the light wall, gazing off into the distance. Leo just stared at this strange thing that had shown up in his psyche. They stayed like that for several minutes. _

_"Exactly how could you help me protect my brothers?" the turtle finally broke the silence. _

_"You have great power, Leonardo," the being answered. "However, without me to train you, you can never harness it. Imagine," it continued, "never failing again." _

_Leonardo's mind was instantly filled with an all too familiar image. His brother and his master were all scattered around a cold, metal catwalk inside the Shredder's spaceship. They were each badly wounded, almost fatally so. He then saw himself, struggling just to breathe after Karai had stabbed him. He was lucky that it was not directly through the heart, but he knew that he wouldn't still be alive if it wasn't for the incredible healing technology that the Utroms possessed. The image passed, returning him to the inside of the barricade. _

_"You'd never have to face anything like that ever again," Lo-Ruhamah offered. _

_Leonardo tried very hard to not show that his interest had suddenly increased exponentially. A pounding sound came from outside of the fortification of light. _

_"Think about it," the being insisted. "Looks like you're getting some help from the outside world. Remember, think about my offer. We'll be seeing each other again soon."_

_A long, dark crack appeared, running all the way from the very lowest point along the floor up to where it disappeared from sight far above Leonardo's head. _

_"Time for me to go! Make sure you don't tell anyone about me!" Lo-Ruhamah waved. _

_"Why not?" Leo asked. _

_"Do you really want them to think you're crazy? I mean, a little person in your head? Come on! No one would ever believe that. However, you don't need to tell them until after you've decided what to do and have started to master your inner strength. They would believe you then. Just keep thinking about my offer!" _

_It disappeared in a small puff of smoke. Just then, a strange, black-eyed, striped turtle poked his head in, through the crack. _

_"Leonardo? You need to come with me." He reached his hand through the fissure. _

_For some reason, Leo instantly knew that he could trust this strange turtle. He rushed over and grabbed the __turtle's hand. The strange turtle heaved backwards strongly, pulling Leonardo through the crack._

His eyes opened slowly, taking a moment to adjust to the dimness of the room. He was in some sort of bubble and the strange turtle was leaning over the outside of the bubble.

"Welcome back, Leonardo. We were afraid that we had lost you. How do you feel?"

Leo tried to answer but found that his mouth was too parched to allow him to speak.

"Would you like some water?"

The blue-clad turtle nodded slightly.

"Alright." The striped turtle turned his shell to Leonardo and picked up a blue vial. He then turned back and poured the contents of the vial out on top of the bubble.

"I'm sorry that I can't let you off automatic breather quite yet, at least not after the scare you gave us."

The liquid he had poured was slowly passing through the outside of the bubble and forming a large, suspended blob on the inside. The self-contained orb of liquid lowered towards Leonardo's lips, allowing him to sip from it.

As Leo was drinking, the strange turtle introduced himself. The recovering turtle's eye-ridges shot up in ecstatic surprise when Night-eyes informed him that he was his brother-in-law and that Crystal was still alive. When he had finished ingesting the liquid, Leo immediately asked for his brothers.

"LeYa'el went to go and retrieve them," Night-eyes explained. "Before they get here, though, I am going to have to ask you a few questions so that I can figure out what happened to you. It's just like a normal doctor's visit."

Leonardo nodded his head in assent, neglecting to tell his new-found brother-in-law that he had never been to the doctor's in his life.

"First of all," Night-eyes started, "what exactly happened for you to create such an impenetrable barrier? It took me the combined power of seven different spells to break you out of there."

"I really don't know what happened," Leonardo replied. "One minute, it was all dark and my brothers had just found me. They were pulling me out. Suddenly, I felt something really bad coming and I pushed them out of the way. The next minute, everything was extremely bright and I couldn't find a way out."

"I see." Night-eyes' voice displayed no emotion. "And what happened on the inside of the barrier?"

"I was trying to get out. I pounded on the walls, but they wouldn't break. Nothing that I did seemed to have any effect on them. It was almost like they were there just so that I couldn't get out. Then you came and here I am."

"Did anything else show up while you were there?"

"No," Leonardo lied.

Just then, LeYa'el reappeared in the room, along with Michelangelo, Donatello, Crystal and Jaden. Both of the boys ran over to Leonardo's side, while Night-eyes came forwards to greet his wife and son.

"Hey, guys," the turtle smiled from inside the bubble.

"Hey, Leo," Donatello smiled back. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Tired, but better."

"So, um, you going to stay with us this time, bro?"

"Yeah, Mikey," Leonardo assured him, "I'm not planning on going anywhere. Speaking of which, where's Raph?"

"Yumi and Sasori are searching for him in the gardens. He ran off again," explained Donatello.

Leo nodded his head in understanding. Crystal came walking up to them.

"So I guess there really is an afterlife and it's located in Lower Eyeth," Leonardo joked weakly.

Crystal smirked. "I'm not the one who went and got myself possessed, mister!"

"Touché."

"How much longer does he have to stay inside that bubble?" Donatello asked Night-eyes.

"Just until I can be sure that he can breathe on his own."

"Wait…I stopped breathing?"

"Leo, you almost died."

That thought shocked him severely. He had been close to death's door a couple of other times, but never to the point where he had stopped breathing.

Yumi and Sasori walked in. The Netian girl was drying her hair off with a white towel. She stared pointedly at Michelangelo.

"What?"

"Next time you feel like crying, please don't make it start raining while I'm outside."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

Leonardo noticed that his hot-headed brother was not with them. "Did you find Raph?"

Sasori shook his head negatively. "He's not anywhere in any of the gardens. He's also not in the house."

LeYa'el frowned. "He should not have gone beyond the gates without telling us."

"Um…he kinda does that a lot," Michelangelo rubbed the back of his head. "It's what he does when he's upset 'bout something."

LeYa'el sighed. "I will see if I can find him. Please be silent for a moment."

She closed her eyes. After about a minute, she snapped them open. "Oh no!"

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_Please review! Flames will be used to light my scented candles._


	11. The Sea of Tears

_A/N: This chapter is a little shorter than the others, due to me trying to write it over Thanksgiving. Oh well, I hope you enjoy it. Some of you may have noticed that I changed the rating on this from K+ to T. I did that for safty reasons, though I promise nothing is really bad other than a single swear word. Just better to be safe than sorry. I think I responded to everyone who reviewed, but if not, please bug me about it. OK, last thing before the chapter starts. I did include some phrases in Spanish. I am not very good at Spanish right now, so if you notice something wrong, please tell me! Now for the chapter!_ :)

**Disclaimer: Stairs may be slippery when wet**

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_Ten minutes earlier:_

Raphael was running aimlessly. He didn't give a fig where he ended up; he just needed to run to block the pain. At last, he found himself on the shore of a long peninsula and he could run no farther. The sand and gravel felt soothing to his feet. However, the condition of his feet had nothing to do with the condition of his heart. He picked up a small stone and hurled it as far as he could.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!! WHY?!?" he yelled at the sky. "WE DIDN'T DO NUTHIN'! 'SPECIALLY NOT LEO! ME, MAYBE, BUT 'SPECIALLY NOT LEO! WHY'S LEO GOT TA BE THE ONE DYIN'?"

He threw another rock, tears streaming out of his eyes.

"Why couldn't it be me?" he muttered, flopping down onto the beach. "I mean, the others – Donnie an' Mikey – they can live without me. But no Leo? I shoulda been able ta do somethin'!"

He drew his knees into his chest, feeling so helpless. He barely noticed the waves lapping up against him as the tide was quickly coming in. Nor did he notice the faint creaking and splashing sounds that were drifting over the water.

"Well, what do we have here? It's the big, bad kame that took out twelve of our best fighters singlehandedly, and he's sitting there crying!" a harsh, yet all too familiar voice called out over the water.

A small cluster of row boats were pulling towards the turtle. Standing in the bow of the lead boat was Celorthod the Bad. Each of the other boats was filled to the brim with baboons. The red-clad turtle leapt to his feet. Even though he was never one to turn down a fight, Raphael quickly realized that he was severely outnumbered. Not that that had ever stopped him before, but just in case, he glanced over his back and checked his escape route. He was shocked to see that he was no longer on a peninsula, but on an island. The long stretch of land that reached out to his position had been covered by the tide. He really wished that LeYael hadn't taken his sai. He would just have to do this the hard way.

"Thought you goons couldn't land here or you'd get zapped or somethin'!" he taunted.

Celorthod grinned evilly, showing his long, sharp canines. "We can't land on the mainland, but nothing is stopping us from landing on an island!"

The small islet was now surrounded by the slave trader's boats.

"It's payback time, boys!" the mandrill screeched, pointing at the turtle.

Baboons and various other monkeys began leaping out of the boats, swarming towards Raphael. He punched one in the face, sending it flying back into the water. Two grabbed onto his arms, trying to pull him over. Raphael jerked them up off of the ground and spun them into their comrades. While he was distracted with those two, a small capuchin leapt onto his leg and bit down hard. Raph screamed in anger and pain, tearing the monkey off. A group of baboons came at him with a net. The enraged turtle ran at them, dropping to the ground as they threw it at him. The net sailed harmlessly overhead, ensnaring another baboon on the other side of the ten-foot island. As the turtle jumped back up, a rather large baboon smacked his injured leg with a paddle from the boats. This sent Raph stumbling to his knees, gasping in pain. Raphael waited for a moment as the baboon drew closer, carrying the paddle overhead, and ready to strike. The turtle let his uninjured leg suddenly shoot backwards and into the baboon's gut. It fell with a satisfying thud. Hurtling back upright, Raphael bowled into another group of the baboons as they stepped out of their boat. While they were down, he leaped over them and into the water.

"Turtles are amphibious, ya lousy twit!"

He dove under the water, knowing that he probably couldn't take them all – and win – with an injured leg and no weapons. The water was murky due to the churning of the baboon's paddles. Raph couldn't remember exactly which way the land of the peninsula was, so he struck out in a direction that he thought would be the shortest distance to land. He grimaced at the touch of the salt water on his bleeding leg. Around him, oars were dipping into the water. The baboons had obviously not given up the chase yet. It was all the turtle could do to not be hit by the probing pieces of wood. Suddenly, his luck ran out as a hard blade crashed into his skull.

--------------------

"LeYa'el, what is it?" Donatello exclaimed. "What's 'Oh no?'"

"Raphael strayed beyond my boundaries, where he has stumbled upon the slave traders you ran into before you came here and…." Her voice trailed off.

"And what?" Leonardo demanded.

"He didn't win."

"WHAT?!?"

"From what I could see, he is currently on a ship, heading onto the Sea of Tears. They're probably heading towards Kozue right now."

"We need to go after him!" Leonardo struggled to push himself up from his prostrate position.

"Leonardo! _You_ will go nowhere!" LeYa'el snapped. "You aren't even breathing on your own right now, and there is no possible situation in which I would allow you to just go and surrender yourself back to the daemon that put you in this situation in the first place!"

"She's right, dude," Michelangelo agreed. "You're going to stay put. We're going to go get Raph back!"

--------------------

Raphael's head was pounding as he opened his eyes. He was shackled inside of a tiny cage, barely large enough for him to move a couple of inches in any direction. Around him, there were several other animals, shoved into cages barely large enough to hold them. He let a few choice expletives fly.

"Swearin' don't work. Nope, don't do nuthin', rrbrt."

Raphael glared ill-temperedly at the frog that had said that. "I don't got time for this crap," he growled. He yanked on the chains, but they had been expertly crafted and did not even budge.

"Jus' conserve your energy," a rabbit drawled. "You'll need it for later."

"Shaddup! I ain't goin' ta be here for any 'later!'"

"Now, now, just calm down, rrbrt."

"Calm down?!? I've got a bro who's either dyin' or already dead an' I need to be with him, not here in this dump!"

Raphael jerked his shell against the cage's metal bars, but to no avail. He pulled to the other side. That also did nothing.

"Shh, man! Do you want the 'boons to give you the gas? You got to be quiet to usurp their authority. That's how you stick it to the 'boons!"

"You some sort wacko hippie bunny're somethin'?" Raphael turned his angry gaze to the brown and black furry creature.

"No, not a bunny. Just a rabbit." The rabbit giggled hysterically, a crazed look on his face.

The frog shook his stocky head sadly. "Poor Musho here's had the gas a few too many times since he was captured on his home island," the frog explained.

"Well that's peachy for him, but I ain't jus' goin' to sit 'round here an' go shell knows where!"

Just then, the capuchin that had bit Raphael came swinging down into the hold. It leapt up onto the bars of the turtle's cage and grinned at him.

"Fixing for some of me gasses, _amigo_?"

"The moment I'm out of here, you're dead meat," Raph spat back.

The monkey's evil smile got even wider. "Looks like you're going to be _muchos de __diversion,_ _tortuga_. I wonder what your tongue will talk about when your mind is not around to overhear it!"

Raphael struggled against his bonds, feeling the rage rise in his chest. The capuchin remained exactly as it had been, completely unfazed. It reached into a little pocket that was sewn into its belt and pulled out a tiny red pill. In the blink of an eye, it shot its hand through the bars and cracked the pill under Raphael's nose. The turtle's eyes immediately became bleary. Raphael's head sagged forwards and his mind began to wander into a land of strange shapes and colors.

--------------------

"You're not serious, are you Mike?" Leonardo asked, his eyeridges slightly raised.

"I'm shell-a serious, Leo," Michelangelo replied. "I just sat around when you were hurt and couldn't do anything, not even stop Raph from going out. I'm not just going to let another of my bros get creamed, no matter what you say, dude!" A determined look shone in his eyes.

Then to his surprise, Michelangelo found that his eldest brother was smiling at him fondly. "What?" the orange-clad turtle ventured hesitantly.

"I'm just proud of you, Mikey," Leonardo explained. "I knew that you're not just a total goof-ball."

The teasing air returned to the youngest of the four brothers. "Not a total goof-ball? What's that supposed to mean? Is part of me missing?"

Donatello opened and then, after thinking the better of it, closed his mouth.

"Are you okay, Uncle Donnie?" Jaden grabbed hold of his uncle's leg.

"I'm fine," he replied with a smile. "Just a few too many years of dealing with a very bad case of foot-in-mouth disease."

"You can put your foot in your mouth?" the toddler gaped.

"Never mind," Donnie muttered, looking embarrassed.

"Anyway, in all seriousness, we've got to go after Raph and we've got to hurry!"

"I'm afraid that Michelangelo is right," LeYa'el agreed. "If the traders reach Kozue, it will be almost impossible to rescue him."

"Would the floater work?" Crystal asked.

Night-eyes shook his head. "Only if you want to be tossed around so badly that you are cursed with a never-ending case of seasickness. It would be like being a leaf tossed on the wind."

"Then what can we do?"

--------------------

The portal opened into the Daimyo's throne room in the Battle Nexus and the Daimyo, Master Splinter, and April all stepped through.

"From here, I can open both portals at the same time," the Daimyo informed them. "I shall do so and hopefully pull your sons and Mr. Jones through."

"That sounds like a very wise idea, my old friend," Master Splinter agreed.

The ancient goblin held out his famed war staff and half-closed his eyes in concentration. "Because Mr. Jones will be most likely in a simple situation to withdraw him from, I shall concentrate on him first."

A glowing portal appeared. Even though the rainbow-colored edges were circling rapidly, the center was pure white. Neither Master Splinter nor April could make out any person or shape.

"Hmm," the Daimyo grumbled in annoyance. "It seems as though Mr. Jones is currently traveling between dimensions. There is no way for me to retrieve him until he reaches his destination. In the meantime, I will try to locate your sons."

The portal shifted slightly to the right. For a brief moment, the rainbow flashes from the edges reached in towards the center. As they moved back out, the center image kept switching back and forth between two scenes, but not staying long enough on either to allow the viewers to see clearly.

"It seems that your sons, the turtles, are not all together. Although I am receiving much interference, I could send you to them. However, I cannot pull them through, nor could I tell you exactly where you would end up. Something or some_one_ is blocking my ability to fully concentrate. I am sorry, my friends."

"You have done even more than I could have imagined, my dear friend," Splinter laid a consoling hand on the Daimyo's arm. "I shall take my chance and join my sons." He turned to April. "You, however, Miss O'Neil, must make your own decision. It could be very dangerous."

"Master Splinter, the turtles are like family to me. I won't abandon them if they're in trouble," the girl replied.

"Very well," the rat conceded. He turned back to the Daimyo. "We shall go through. I can never thank you enough, my friend."

"Think nothing of it," the Daimyo replied, seeming to smile. "I am always glad to offer my help to a friend."

Master Splinter and April turned to the portal and stepped through.

--------------------

"Then what can we do?" Michelangelo's question hung on the air for a moment.

No one answered.

"Are there any other sorts of transportation?" Leonardo finally asked after a pause.

LeYa'el shook her head doubtfully. Night-eyes creased his brow.

"I might be able to conjure something up, but it would take a while."

"I could help you if you want," Donatello offered.

Suddenly in front of them, a large, multi-colored portal materialized. To the shock of everyone present, a large rat stepped through it.

"Master Splinter?!?"

--------------------

April stepped through the portal and landed with a soft thud in a dark room. She found herself in a bin of what was either hay or straw, from the feel of it. She was having a hard time adjusting her eyes after the bright light from the portal. Even without sight, though, she could sense that she must be on some sort of boat or ship. There was wood creaking all around her and there was no mistaking the sloshing sensation in her stomach. Her eyes slowly began to pick out tiny dots of light shining into the darkness. At last, she had adjusted enough to see the faint outlines of the various objects in the room. She was sitting in a corner. In front of her, there were some largish crates. Finally, at the very opposite side of the small room, there was a door with a sliver of faint light peeking out from underneath it. Master Splinter was nowhere to be seen.

_He must have been sent to the other location,_ she realized.

Carefully so as to not disturb anything, April crept around the crates and made her way to the door. She leaned a careful ear up against it and strained to hear any sounds. The most that she could hear was a slight croaking sound and the sound like a small animal chattering. She tested the handle and was thrilled to find that the door was unlatched. Using all of the ninja skills that Master Splinter had taught her over the past several months, she nudged the door open, tensed for any sound that would betray her presence. After a few agonizing seconds, she had opened it enough to see through. She gasped at the sight before her.

There was a large, dimly lit cargo hold in front of her. It was filled to capacity with many cages, big and small, each holding some sort of animal or strange creature.

_So this is where the animal sounds were coming from._

In the very middle of the hold was a cage that was approximately four-and-a-half feet tall. It was made up of very thick, metal bars. Inside of it, there was a dark, crouched-over figure. Its appendages were attached to the bars. To April's dismay, she recognized it as a giant turtle. She glanced around and couldn't see anything that was not securely fastened inside a cage. Silently, she tiptoed out of the storage room and into the hold. Most of the creatures seemed to be asleep. The few that weren't stared at her curiously, but they didn't make any noises that would have alerted their captors. She drew up next to the largest cage and could make out the turtle's face. Her eyes grew large as she recognized Raphael. His eyes were rolled back in his head and a thin stream of drool was trickling from the corner of his mouth. His head was resting on the solid roof of the cage. But even so, his back and knees were bent in an uncomfortable position just so that he could fit into it.

"Raph!" April whispered, reaching through the bars to touch his hand.

The turtle's head tilted towards her. "Murphl…blurg…" he muttered.

"Huh? I don't think I heard you right, Raph. Are you okay?"

His eyes rolled down and stared at her without seeing. "I'm…alive."

"What happened to you?"

"Damn monkey…gas…you look purdy."

A frog in a near-by cage began to croak at her as though it was speaking, but she couldn't understand what it was saying.

"Come on, Raph. Let's get you out of here."

She walked around until she reached the cage's front. All that was holding it shut was a simple latch. She unhooked it and pulled the door open. The shackles were not so simple. They were so tight on Raphael's wrists and ankles that there was no way to just slide them off, and they required a key to open. The turtle was watching her every move. After a moment, his eyes began to clear again.

"April! What are you doing here?"

"Long story. Any idea where the key for these are?"

Raphael shook his head stiffly, grimacing as his drug-heightened senses felt the rough scrape of wood on his bare skin.

"Let's see how else we can get you out, then." April turned around, looking for any sort of inspiration.

Suddenly, Raphael heard a noise on the stairs leading down to the hold. "Quick! Close my cage back up! Someone's coming!"

April immediately complied.

"Hide!" the turtle hissed.

The girl turned around desperately.

"Go! Just stay in the shadows!"

April ducked behind a pile of cages that were holding several rabbits just in time as the capuchin returned. Raphael had let the bleary look return to his eyes.

"Ah, what have we here, _mi __loco__ tortuga_?Are you feeling _muy_ _feliz, amigo?_"

The monkey studied Raphael's face for a moment, and then – apparently satisfied – it scampered back up to the main deck. The turtle's eyes immediately cleared. April stepped out of the shadows and re-opened the door to his cage.

"If only Don was here with his welding tools, then we could get you out right now," she murmured, more to herself than to Raphael.

"Ya mean that a really hot fire can get me out? Duh! Why didn't I think o' this before?" Raphael exclaimed.

He let the energy begin to build in his hands and they started to glow brightly.

"Raph! What's happening?"

"Jus' stand back," he grunted, trying to force his drug-bewildered mind to concentrate on his immense annoyance at everything that had been happening over the course of the past few hours. The energy began to heat up the manacles on his wrists. He winced at the touch of melting metal on his skin. After a moment, he had melted through the metal that was constraining his wrists. Immediately, the energy orbs disappeared and Raphael fell forwards into April's arms. He was trying hard to not show how badly the severe burns on his wrists were hurting him.

"Are you alright?"

"Peachy."

"Raph?"

"What?"

"You're bleeding."

"It's jus' a little burn. I'm fine."

"Mmhmm," April said, unbelievingly.

"Let me get m'legs free."

Raphael pushed himself up out of April's arms, and leaned on the bars. He reached down and let the energy form again. This time, he was very careful to only let the energy touch the chains, not the metal that was directly up against his skin. The chains were soon nothing but a lump of molten metal cooling on the bottom of the cage.

"Let's get the shell outa here."

--------------------

"And that, my children, is how I arrived here to be with you," Master Splinter finished explaining.

He was sitting with the three turtle brothers and Crystal in the same room that he had arrived in. LeYa'el had gone, along with the other two turtles and the Netians, back into the upper levels of the house.

"And so April is…?" Donatello ventured.

"We can only assume that she is now with your brother."

"Master, how can we get them back?"

"As a wise man once said, we must 'think outside of the box.' If there is no boat, then is there another means of transport? Can one simply trace the edge of this sea until one reaches the other side?"

"Unfortunately, no, Master," Crystal answered. "You could walk around the Sea of Tears as much as you could walk around the Atlantic Ocean back on Earth. As far as I know, there isn't any other sort of transport here. But then again, that isn't exactly my area of expertise."

"Are there any other villages near here that might have a boat?" Leonardo asked. He was still inside of the breather-bubble, but had finally managed to sit up.

Crystal shook her head. "No one builds boats around here anymore. There used to be a family of otters – I think – that built little boats, but they disappeared many years ago."

Michelangelo had been strangely quiet during this discussion, just staring down at the floor. All of a sudden, his head shot up and an excited look was in his eyes. "Dudes, we're looking at this all wrong!"

"How so, Mikey?"

"It's like in Justice Force number forty-three when the evil Dr. Jar-brain disabled all of the team's rides when he brainwashed the Silver Sentry and took him to his secret island headquarters!"

All of the others looked at each other and then back to the youngest.

"Would you care to elaborate on that, Michelangelo?" Master Splinter requested.

"Well, you see Master, with all of their rides out and the hideout was over water, most of the team couldn't do anything to go after them. But then they got help from Tsunami from Japan and they went under the water, except for Amanda – 'cause she can fly too, but that's beside the point. Anyway, couldn't we make another bubble like the one Leo's in right now and go _under_ the water?"

--------------------

Raphael came back down to April. He had just snuck up the stairs and peeked out onto the deck.

"About twenty, jus' on deck. There's bound ta be more someplace else. There were more o' dem than that when those bozos jumped me."

"Then what should we do?"

Raphael looked around as a big grin filled his face. "I've got an idea."

The frog began croaking again.

"Yeah, jus' like that," the turtle replied to it.

April stared at him incredulously. "You can understand what it's saying?"

"Can't you?"

"To tell you the truth, no."

"Yer kiddin' me."

"Raph," April gave him an exasperated look, "does it _look_ like I'm kidding you?"

The turtle did not reply. Instead, he was already starting to pry open the other animals' cages. "I ain't enough ta take over this bucket. Need more than muscle ta win."

"You're sounding like Leo, Raph," April said, astonished.

"Yeah, well, if ya ever get the chance, don't tell 'im I sometimes listen."

He didn't have his face towards her, so she never saw the momentary look of anguish that filled his eyes. Before April had a chance to ask him what he meant by 'if' she ever got the chance, he had already released almost all of the animals. Despite his continuous hushing, the mass was being very noisy.

"Shaddup! Please!" Raphael waved his hands over his head.

"Don't think it's workin', man," Musho the rabbit said, hopping up next to Raphael's leg and leaning drunkenly up against him.

April stared at the rabbit. "You talk?"

"I can do lots more than that, babe," Musho smirked lopsidedly at her. "Wanna find out what?"

"Thanks, I'm already taken," the girl retorted.

"Would ya all jus' be quiet?" Raphael was becoming even more frustrated. "They'll hear ya, an' it ain't time yet!"

"RRRRRRRBBBBBBBRRRRRTTTT!!!!!" The frog croaked as loudly as it could.

All of the other animals immediately stopped their chattering. Just then, the capuchin came swinging down into the hold. Its eyes became as wide as physically possible. It screamed and turned back towards the main deck.

"Stop him!" Raphael yelled.

Twelve rabbits and a large squirrel pounced on the monkey, quickly subduing it.

"What's going on down there?" a baboon called down.

Everyone looked expectantly at Raphael. He flicked open his hands, creating balls of energy. An enormous, leering grin spread across his face.

"Let's get 'em!"

* * *

_amigo_ -- friend  
_muchos de diversion_ -- much fun  
_tortuga_ -- turtle  
_mi loco_ -- my crazy  
_muy feliz_ -- very happy

* * *

_So please review! Any flames will be used to make popcorn!_


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